Canada's international student population climbs – in part due to strong interest from India
Tania Kaushal is one of tens of thousands of international students from India now attending a college or university in British Columbia.
"I'm from Punjab and Punjabis are crazy about Canada," she said.
Kaushal is an accounting student at Langara College in Vancouver and hopes to move to the city permanently.
"Most of my friends live in Canada and in Vancouver," she said.
For her and many others, it was the large Indian community in British Columbia that convinced her to study here.
"My whole family settled there so that's why I opted for Canada. They also told me Canada is best for post-graduate studies," said Anterpreet Kaur, another Langara College student.
According to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, a total of 23,950 study permits were authorized in the first two months of 2022 -- and more than half were issued to students from India.
In British Columbia, there are more than 143,000 international students according to the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Training. India ranks as the top source country, making up more than a third of the demographic.
Rudolf Kischer, of MKS Immigration Lawyers, noticed this growing trend and said it's a result – at least in part -- of what's going on in India.
"Things are changing in India. There's a growing middle class. People have the funds to send their children abroad which is extremely expensive," he explained.
He added that there's also been a massive shift in the Canadian immigration process over the last five years.
"We moved from the system where we chose immigrants from overseas to a system that almost exclusively chooses immigrants in economic categories: people who are already studying or working in Canada," he said.
In other words, studying in Canada is one way to land permanent residency, which many international students say they want.
Kischer also said Canada is an attractive country for international students from India because both countries speak English and the job market is less competitive in Canada, which many students agree with.
"It has great opportunities over here as compared to India," said Isha Sharma, also a Langara College student.
"I didn't find any opportunities there. There were opportunities but there was more competition there. So I thought of moving here and getting a job here," said Gomzy Khurana, another international student from India.
India has long been a big contributor to Canadian immigration. According to the IRCC, 25 per cent of the total number of permanent residents in 2019 were from India.
In August, 2021 census data revealed that Mandarin and Punjabi are the most common non-official languages in Canada, with more than a million people predominantly speaking one of the two.
Statistics Canada also noted a large increase in the growth of the number of Canadians who predominantly speak South Asian languages such as Punjabi, Gujarati, Hindi or Malayalam since the last census in 2016, a rise which was fuelled by immigration.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trudeau 'absolutely' best person to lead the Liberals in next election: LeBlanc says
Cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc insists he's not planning a leadership campaign to head the Liberal party, should current leader and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau resign, seemingly quashing rumours he's planning to make a move for his boss' job.
Pastrnak scores winner, Bruins down Leafs 2-1 in overtime in Game 7
Sheldon Keefe told his players hockey history would remember them one way or another.
King Charles III’s openness about cancer has helped him connect with people in year after coronation
King Charles III's decision to be open about his cancer diagnosis has helped the new monarch connect with the people of Britain and strengthened the monarchy in the year since his dazzling coronation at Westminster Abbey.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Bombarded with spam texts? Stats show the problem is getting worse in Canada
In particular, messages that involve phishing — an attack where a scammer tries to trick the recipient into clicking a malicious link, downloading malware or sharing sensitive information — are on the rise.
The American paradox of protest: Celebrated and condemned, welcomed and muzzled
Americans cherish the right to assemble, to speak out, to petition for the redress of grievances. It's enshrined in the first of the constitutional amendments. They laud social actions of the past and recognize the advances toward equality that previous generations made, often at risk of life and limb. But those same activities can produce anger and outright opposition when life's routines are interrupted, and wariness that those speaking out are outsiders looking to sow chaos and influence impressionable minds.
William Shatner says he would consider 'Star Trek' return: 'Here comes Captain Kirk!'
The Montreal-born actor, famed for his portrayal of Captain Kirk in "Star Trek," says he is open to reprising the iconic role in the sci-fi franchise as long as the storytelling is stellar.
Bodies recovered in Mexico likely 2 Australians, 1 American who went missing: officials
Three bodies recovered in an area of Baja California are likely to be those of the two Australians and an American who went missing last weekend during a camping and surfing trip, the state prosecutor’s office said Saturday.
A driver dies after crashing into a security barrier around the White House complex, authorities say
A driver died after a vehicle crashed into an outer perimeter gate of the White House complex, and the incident late Saturday was being investigated as a traffic crash, police said. U.S. President Joe Biden was spending the weekend in Delaware, and the Secret Service said there was no threat to the White House.