Sep 12 2023 - International Students

 

Who has the most international students?  The US - almost 1 million in 2020 - China and India The UK - almost 551,000 in 2020 - China, India and the European Union Australia - 458,000 - China, India and Nepal Canada - 431,000 - India, China and France China - 377,000 from Korea, Thailand and Pakistan Compared to the statistics above, a CBC articles says that there were 800,000 international students in Canada in 2022.   Who in Canada brought in the most international students?  Conestoga College - 21,000 in 2022.  Did you know that 62% of the post-secondary student permit approvals were at the college level - not the University level. What about the universities?  The 2022 #1 rank was University Canada West with 10,110 permits approved, then University of Toronto with 7,050.  And who is University Canada West?  It is a private institution in Vancouver, established in 2004.    This has been in the news in the last few months and weeks - the housing crisis and the problem of international students finding jobs to sustain their stay.   The ever-increasing numbers have happened in order to shore up the revenues of post-secondary education institutions, particularly in Ontario.  Doug Ford reduced tuition fees in 2018 in Ontario.  That's the trigger that prompted the significant increase in international students - institutions had to make up the gap in revenues.  He said it was to "keep more money in the pockets of Ontario students and families".  Instead, it has led to the shift to international students who bring in much higher tuitions - now 3/4 of tuition revenue.  India seems to be supporting our postsecondary institutions. This combines with the cascading effect of lack of student housing and jobs to support so many students.  Is this a Canadian issue?  It seems to be everywhere.  A Guardian article highlighted Canada, and then turned to Scotland with students homeless, Turkey students homeless, and California using offshore barges. UK has the issue. This housing issue has been decades in the making.  "The 2008 financial crisis is widely linked to housing policy failures in North America and Europe."  That's from a 2017 article HEREoutlining the depth and scale of the international housing crisis.   Where is Canada in this?  The Canadian "crisis" can be tracked back to 1987 when the federal government decided it shouldn't be involved in housing, and gave it to the provinces along with the funding.  However, not all the provinces spent the money on housing.   So we'll be seeing a lot more on the international student crisis along with the housing crisis in the coming months.   The "good old days" when Grimsby Beach's Painted Ladies were lake-side cottages.

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Niagara's Little Garden Show

A Garden Show in Niagara I went to the Niagara College Greenhouse 'Student Open House' last Friday.  This was the day before they presented the open house so I got the preview and got to meet the students. Everyone was running around, getting things ready, and they were all having a good time of it.  The students took time out from organizing the displays to show me their work and explain the compositions and plants.  It is encouraging and delightful to see a new generation of workers who are engaged and enjoying their work.  They had displays showcasing recycling of materials, as in the humorous use of tires with grass.  There were tiny space gardens and vertical displays.  The horticultural program teaches the latest techniques so the hydroponic lettuces were as interesting looking as they were delicious looking. It was so enjoyable to see this kind of garden show compared to Canada Blooms this year.  It is small, creative, personal and alive. More on Canada Blooms tomorrow.