With strong, established international communities and attractive work program offerings, Canada’s Prairie provinces are attracting the interest of international students and their families. Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba each saw significant growth in K-12 study permit approvals last year, with nearly 6,400 primary and secondary students approved to study in the Prairies from January to September 2022. These accounted for nearly 1 in 4 student visa approvals over that span.1
In January, we looked at Canadian provincial study permit trends in Atlantic Canada as a part of our provincial trends series. Today, we’ll be taking a look at study permit trends in the Prairies, diving into which levels of study students are interested in and where they’re coming from.
Which study levels were popular among international students in the Prairies? What trends are we seeing for Prairie institutions? Let’s dive right in.
Key Insights at a Glance
- In the first nine months of 2022, Alberta surpassed the previous year’s total of 15,500 study permit approvals by almost 200 approvals.2
- College and K-12 were the only two sectors to surpass their 2021 totals in just nine months in the Prairies.
- Nearly 6,400 primary and secondary students were approved to study in the Prairies, accounting for almost 1 in 4 approvals.
- Despite the drop in approvals for Chinese international students in Canada, K-12 approvals for Chinese students in the Prairies are rising.
Alberta Is Driving the Growth of Study Permit Approvals in the Prairies
The Prairies represent roughly 9% of all study permit approvals in Canada. In 2021, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta surpassed 2019 approval numbers, with Alberta growing by 36% from 2019 to 2021. 2022 data shows that study permit approval rates in Alberta and Saskatchewan are up.
The chart below shows the increasing popularity of Alberta and Saskatchewan over the past seven years:
In the first nine months of 2022, Alberta surpassed the previous year’s total of 15,500 approvals by nearly 200 approvals. Saskatchewan also set a new record for study permit approvals, with 4,400 approvals in 2022. This surpassed 2021 totals by nearly 100.
In comparison, larger destination provinces like British Columbia, Quebec, and Ontario remained below their 2021 approvals over the same time period. Just behind Saskatchewan and Alberta, Manitoba was still on track to match 2021 numbers by year-end, with over 6,400 approvals from January to September 2022.
Compared to the other Prairie provinces, Alberta had the highest study permit approval rate in 2022, with 67% of applications approved. This was 16 percentage points higher than Manitoba and 19 percentage points higher than Saskatchewan. Manitoba’s slower pace compared to Saskatchewan and Alberta in 2022 can be partially attributed to its slightly lower approval rate of 51% in 2022, which was nearly four percentage points lower than 2021.
Alberta is Attracting More International Students
Alberta is becoming an increasingly popular study abroad destination for students, offering quality education, an affordable cost of living, and competitive tuition rates. We’re seeing a strong push in international student interest across all study levels, but particularly at the college and K-12 level. The surge in international interest in Alberta colleges can likely be attributed to their strong program offerings and the lower—and in some cases refundable—tuition at many Alberta institutions.
Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP) Post-Graduate and International Graduate categories offer post-graduation opportunities to international students.
More families are bringing their children with them to study in Alberta. Along with K-12 enrollment, college enrollment in Alberta was high, with 38% of study permit approvals in Alberta at the college level in 2022. This was up by two percentage points from last year and six percentage points from 2019.
As college enrollment continues to increase in Alberta, we expect to see more parents bringing their children with them to study in the Prairies, causing K-12 enrollment to grow as well.
More Primary and Secondary Students Are Coming to the Canadian Prairies
The past few years were challenging for families across the world, with many parents feeling hesitant about bringing their children with them to study abroad. However, that hesitation appears to have largely passed, with more and more international students coming to study in Canada at the primary and secondary level.
Let’s take a look at which study levels international students are studying at in the Prairies:
Last year, the college and K-12 sectors were the only two study levels to exceed their 2021 totals in just nine months. By the end of September, college approvals were up 1.5%, with 8,800 approvals. This was well ahead of the university level, which remained 17% below the previous year’s approvals. With final approval numbers yet to be released, we expect to see the university level stabilize to match the previous year’s levels.
We saw a significant growth in the number of K-12 students studying in the Prairies in 2022, surpassing the growth of all other study levels. Let’s take a closer look at which provinces had the most K-12 approvals between Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba:
From January to September 2022, nearly 6,400 primary and secondary students were approved to study in the Prairies, accounting for nearly 1 in 4 approvals. This 17% increase from full-year 2021 in the first three quarters of the year signals a growing K-12 market and presents an opportunity for secondary students to feed into post-secondary institutions.
Alberta has been driving the surge in K-12 enrollment in the Prairies, with a 33% increase in K-12 approvals in 2022. Although Alberta accounted for less than 60% of approvals in the Prairies, 63% of K-12 approvals were students looking to study in Alberta, compared to 56% in 2021.
Where Are Primary and Secondary Students in the Prairies Coming From?
Now that we’ve taken a look at what study levels international students are being approved to study at in the Prairies, let’s do a deeper dive into where K-12 interest is coming from:
In the first nine months of 2022, nine out of the top 10 student populations for K-12 international students in the Prairies increased from full-year 2021.
Asian student markets were among the top student populations for new study permit approvals in the K-12 sector in 2022. The Philippines had the highest number of approvals in the K-12 sector, with nearly 1,300 approvals in 2022. Despite the drop in Chinese approvals over the past few years, approvals for primary and secondary students from China are on the rise, with 15% more K-12 students in 2022 than 2021.
Of the top student populations, India experienced the highest year-over-year growth in approvals from 2021, and is on track to triple the number of approvals for K-12 students in 2022. With a growth of 169% in just nine months, India is, by far, leading the growth in K-12 approvals in 2022.
Looking Forward
The Prairies have earned their spot as a top study abroad region in Canada, with Alberta driving this trend. Students and their families are expressing a clear interest in studying in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, particularly at the K-12 level.
The growth we have seen in the K-12 sector over the past nine months points toward a promising future for the Prairies, with educational opportunities to extend into post-secondary education. With the Alberta 2023 initiative plan officially out, we expect more paid work opportunities for students with the Work-integrated Learning Industry Voucher pilot program.
Here are our thoughts on what institutions in the Prairies can continue to do to drive student interest:
- Encourage students to apply for local scholarships to offset their already lower tuition fees in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.
- Promote the diverse communities that exist in the Prairies to help students transition to their study abroad destination.
- Share the competitive advantage of lower tuition fees and cost of living in growing metropolitan areas like Calgary, which ranked as the third most livable city in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Liveability Index, to help offset inflation and keep expenses low.
- Direct students to Alberta’s regional job banks to inform students about the most in-demand job opportunities in their field of study and encourage them to look into graduate and internship opportunities.
We’ll continue to monitor these trends and provide an update on these markets as soon as full-year data comes in. Stay tuned to ApplyInsights in the coming weeks for the next article in our provincial trends series, where we’ll be doing a deeper dive into the most popular Canadian provincial regions.
Subscribe to ApplyInsights
Sign up for the latest insights on international education.
About the ApplyInsights Team
FOOTNOTES:
1. The terms student visa and study permit are generally used interchangeably for Canadian international students. Rather than student visas, Canada provides accepted international students with study permits, which allow those students to enroll in classes at Canadian institutions. When a student is accepted for a study permit, they are also usually provided with a visitor visa, which allows that student to enter Canada for their studies. For the purposes of this article, we’ll use the terms interchangeably.
2. All data courtesy of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
