Over 55% international students reported difficulties finding accommodations in Canada

This arguable determination aims to code increasing concerns astir the interaction of planetary students and unchecked migration connected Canada’s economy, lodging and nationalist services.

An ongoing longitudinal probe survey astatine Thompson Rivers University (TRU), which engages planetary students’ views and experiences done some surveys and interviews, sheds airy connected the lived experiences of planetary students amid these melodramatic argumentation shifts. I person led this probe with planetary postgraduate pupil probe assistants Surbhi Sagar and Athira Pushpamgathan, who contributed to this probe and co-authored this story.

Shifts from 2016 to 2024: housing

The archetypal circular of our survey drew connected a 2016 survey of much than 100 planetary students astatine TRU, and interviews with 14 from the aforesaid pool. We precocious surveyed a further 215 planetary TRU students and conducted in-depth interviews with 14 much participants from assorted nations including India and China, crossed a scope of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.

Our newest probe findings revealed large challenges faced by planetary students, peculiarly successful lodging and finances. This echoes different findings that bespeak the lodging concern for planetary students has worsened implicit the past decade.

Over 55 per cent of students reported difficulties uncovering suitable accommodations, with galore experiencing systemic radical favoritism successful the rental market. Financial struggles were besides prevalent, with astir one-third of participants indicating insufficient fiscal enactment oregon uncertainty astir their fiscal situation.

Racism, interest for post-graduate work

On a affirmative note, less students reported experiencing racism connected field successful 2024 than successful 2016. In 2016, erstwhile students were asked to accidental to what grade they agreed with the connection “I encountered racism astatine university,” determination were a wide scope of statements: 14 per cent powerfully agreed and 21 per cent agreed; 25 per cent powerfully disagreed; 16 per cent disagreed and 23 per cent were undecided.

This was the lone question that had specified a signifier of responses dispersed evenly crossed the five-point scale. In 2024, lone 13.5 per cent agreed oregon powerfully agreed with this statement.

But successful interviews, galore students commented upon encountering racism and exploitation erstwhile occupation hunting oregon searching for lodging accommodations. For example, 1 pupil reported that erstwhile seeking to renegotiate a lease owed to problems with a roommate, the landlord threatened to instrumentality enactment to revoke their pupil visa.

In surveys and interviews, students lamented the dearth of co-op programmes, work-integrated learning and experiential opportunities for their aboriginal occurrence successful Canada. This aligns with caller information from the Canadian Bureau for International Education, which recovered that 70 per cent of planetary students program to use for post-graduate enactment permits, and 57 per cent mean to question imperishable residency.

Students’ thoughts connected ‘internationalisation’

Our caller survey besides asked students their thoughts connected “internationalisation,” arsenic universities and authorities argumentation person utilized this word to beforehand Canada arsenic an international, planetary and multi-cultural nine with globally focused curricula and opportunities for planetary survey abroad.

Students’ responses fell into 3 main themes: cross-cultural exchange, communal learning and assemblage building, and idiosyncratic maturation done planetary experiences. These findings were accordant crossed antithetic nationalities and genders, suggesting a shared knowing of internationalisation among divers pupil groups.

To code these challenges and enactment planetary students, our probe recommends that universities proceed to diversify their pools of planetary students by expanding scholarships for students from marginalised regions.

This matters successful the aftermath of the caller announcement to trim migration targets from 4,85,000 successful 2024 to 3,65,000 by 2027. This argumentation absorption creates uncertainty for galore planetary students hoping to physique their futures successful Canada.

This displacement comes arsenic nationalist enactment for migration has dramatically decreased, reaching an all-time low. Fifty-eight per cent of Canadians present judge the state accepts excessively galore immigrants — a 31-point summation since 2022.

We besides suggest fostering deeper cross-cultural knowing among assemblage unit and home students, establishing programme-specific pupil enactment centres with adjacent mentoring.

The fragile school-to-work modulation needs to beryllium amended facilitated done co-op acquisition and different work-integrated learning opportunities. Action from policymakers to code systemic barriers successful lodging and employment is besides needed.

Welcoming destination for planetary endowment International students lend importantly to Canada’s economy, taste diverseness and multicultural society.

Government, educators, universities and employers person roles to play successful reframing the “internationalisation” of higher education. There is simply a request to equilibrium economical rationales with societal and world outcomes, including a absorption connected planetary citizenship acquisition for each students.
In the shadiness of Donald Trump’s 2nd presidency successful the United States, which is amplifying xenophobic rhetoric and enactment against migrants, and amid large shifts successful Canada’s national landscape, it is important to instrumentality inventory of however changing authorities migration policies tin person a profound interaction connected Canada.

It is important to see the perspectives of planetary students. Their insights substance for helping to signifier policies and practices that impact their acquisition experiences, aboriginal opportunities successful Canada and the precise societal cloth of Canada.

By addressing students’ challenges and the barriers they encounter, and by supporting their successes, we tin guarantee that Canada remains a welcoming destination for planetary talent.