The Canadian international education sector can finally say it has escaped the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of study permit holders in Canada reached a record high in 2022, and returned to a pre-pandemic trend line.1
What are the fastest-growing student populations in Canada? Are some study levels recovering stronger than others? And which provinces saw the largest increase in student visa holders since 2019?2 We dive into it all in today’s ApplyInsights.
Key Insights at a Glance
- More than 800,000 international students held a valid Canadian study permit in 2022.
- Indian students accounted for 40% of all Canadian student visa holders last year.
- In 2022, post-secondary studies accounted for 81% of all held student visas.
- More than half of all permit holders studied in Ontario last year, the first time a province surpassed the 50% threshold.
It should be noted that permit holders data differs from permits issued data. Study permit holders data is the number of students in Canada at a given time, whereas the permits issued data is the number of students who came to Canada over a given period.
More Than 800,000 Canadian Study Permit Holders in 2022
Over 807,000 international students held a valid Canadian student visa in 2022. Let’s take a look at how that compares to previous years:
The number of Canadian study permit holders in 2022 surpassed the previous high in 2019 by 27%. What’s more, the total in 2022 is nearly perfectly aligned with the trend line from 2017 through 2019. This shows that the pandemic created two years of artificially low permit holders data.
International student interest for a Canadian education has never been higher. The Canadian government processed a record number of study permit applications in 2021, surpassing 2019’s total by 30%. Meanwhile, Canada’s on track to set another new record for processed student visas in 2022:
At ApplyBoard, applications to our Canadian partner schools grew by almost 50% in 2022.
Largest International Student Populations in Canada
Let’s take a look at how the population of international students in Canada has shifted over the past six years:
Over 319,000 Indian students held a valid Canadian study permit in 2022, an increase of 46% over 2019. To put into context how extraordinary this is, no other student population has ever surpassed the 200,000 threshold, let alone 300,000. Indian students accounted for 40% of all Canadian student visas held last year. This was an increase of six percentage points compared to 2019.
As Canada hopes to increase the diversity of its international education sector by 2024, let’s highlight some of the fastest growing student populations:
More than four times as many Filipinos held a Canadian student visa in 2022 compared to 2019, many of whom were mature students. The Philippines became Canada’s third largest source market last year, a jump of ten spots since 2019. Nigerian students have nearly doubled over this time, and no country has grown faster than Nepal. Approval rates for all three countries have spiked in recent years.
The appearance of Hong Kong and Ukraine on this list speaks volumes to the positive impact that targeted, innovative policies can have on the international education sector. In November 2020, Canada implemented new immigration measures supporting Hong Kong residents, including expedited study permit application processing. And in March 2022, Canada announced a new study permit pathway for Ukrainians. After the swift implementation of these new policies, the number of students holding a valid Canadian study permit from both markets grew by about three times their 2019 level.
The fastest-growing student populations are spread across five different continents, showing the far reach of Canada’s international education sector.
K-12 and Post-Secondary on the Rise
Now that we know where students are coming from, let’s see which study levels they’re pursuing in Canada:
Over 651,000 international students held a student visa to pursue post-secondary education in Canada in 2022. That’s a growth of 31% over 2019. Post-secondary studies accounted for 81% of all valid study permits held in 2022, an increase of three percentage points since 2019.
K-12 was slow to recover from the pandemic, but actually had the largest year-over-year growth in 2022. The near 92,000 student visas held for this study level surpassed 2021 by 34%, and was 13% higher than 2019.
Every Canadian Province has Grown Since 2019
Let’s see where international students are choosing to study in Canada:
Since 2019, every Canadian province has increased its number of student visa holders. Atlantic Canada accounted for three of the top six largest growth rates over this period, with no province surpassing New Brunswick’s 66% growth.
To learn what student populations are gravitating toward Atlantic Canada and how it’s impacting the region’s study levels, check out our Atlantic Canada 2022 trends deep dive.
Ontario has always been Canada’s most popular province, but it accounted for over half of all international students in 2022, surpassing the 50% threshold for the first time ever. Quebec and Ontario were the only two provinces in which K-12 accounted for under 10% of all study permit holders in 2022.
Stay tuned to ApplyInsights, as we’re releasing a deep dive into the latest approval rating trends for the Prairies in the coming weeks.
Looking Forward
The number of Canadian study permit holders reached record heights in 2022, putting the pandemic’s impact on its international education sector in the rearview mirror. Many emerging markets set new all-time highs, and every Canadian province hosted more students than pre-pandemic.
At the same time, the sector continued to grow more top-heavy. The largest student population and destination province accounted for a higher proportion of valid student visas held in 2022 than ever before.
Here are some strategies that Canada’s international education sector can consider to increase its recruitment diversity:
- Institutions could leverage their existing student body to help prospective students from emerging markets be aware of the multicultural communities they might join.
- Recruitment counsellors in countries eligible for the Student Direct Stream (SDS) should be well aware of the program’s requirements, as the SDS provides an approval rate advantage.
- Government agencies should look at the policy initiatives successfully implemented for students from Hong Kong and Ukraine as a building block for how to swiftly grow in other targeted emerging markets, such as Nigeria or Nepal.
At ApplyInsights, we look forward to working with all our partners to continue educating the world.
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FOOTNOTES:
1. All data courtesy of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
2. 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.
