Immigration.ca - Canada Immigration News - November 2007
A new study by the Canadian Bureau for International Education has found that Canada, which formerly ranked in the top five destinations for international students, has now fallen to 13th place.
This is not good news for the Canadian economy, according to Globe and Mail columnist Marcus Gee. The reduction of international students in the country means a reduction of Asians arriving and forging potentially strong economic bonds, either in the form of establishing businesses within Canada, or returning to their home country and dealing with Canadian companies from there.
The money spent in Canada by international students is another concern. The Globe and Mail reports that these students pump over $4 billion per year into the economy; “...educating students is a way of balancing the flood of imports [imported goods] from Asia with a product of our own: good schooling.”
Yet Canada is simply not putting in the effort to attract these students, and they are instead choosing other nations such as Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Theresa Bennett, a student recruiter for Columbia College in Vancouver blames this 'passive' attitude for Canada's falling numbers. “There just haven't been the resources put into promoting Canada as an education destination,” she said, echoing the beliefs of many student recruiters nation-wide.
Besides the lack of funds dedicated toward international recruiting, other problems plaguing Canada are the decentralized system that puts education under provincial jurisdiction (thus hindering the implementation of a cohesive national policy), as well as the recent restrictions imposed on student visas.
Source: The Globe and Mail
