More international students coming to Canada, Windsor
The number of international students attending St. Clair College jumped to 6,900 from 500 students in three years.
“Canada is in such huge demand right now both as a country and as an educational system,” Ron Seguin, the college’s vice-president of international relations, campus development and student services, said Thursday.
The growing number of international students — they represent about 3.3 per cent of the Windsor-essex population — was part of the discussion Thursday when the Building Migrant Resilience in Cities Windsor City Network held a forum at the University of Windsor. The forum talked about helping international students while they are studying here and to find them employment and permanent residency.
Like the University of Windsor, the college is getting most of its international students from China and India.
The students are coming to Canada for an education because of an expedited visa process in India, Seguin said, and graduates of a twoyear college program or longer are automatically eligible for a threeyear post graduate work permit in Canada, which is driving the boost from China.
The 6,900 international students from 55 countries at St. Clair College attend the two campuses in Windsor along with programs offered in Chatham and Toronto, Seguin said after the forum. Most are taking business and information technology courses.
“It’s a huge economic impact,” Seguin said. “Most important, it brings diversity and the world economy to St. Clair and kids who graduate today are entering a world economy.”
Chris Busch, the University of Windsor’s acting associate vice-president of enrolment management, said there are more than 4,000 international students at the university.
The growth there has been in the graduate programs and has increased from a few hundred to a few thousand international students in the last decade, Busch said.
Paul Davidson, president of Universities Canada, said Thursday’s forum was part of a research project of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada on how to build resilient cities.
“It’s really important for the future of Canada that we continue to increase the number of international students and that they have positive experiences and contribute to the Canadian economy and Canadian society,” Davidson said.
International students — there are about 500,000 across Canada — contribute about $22 billion to the economy, he said.
It’s a myth that they displace Canadian students. The extra students allow courses and universities to grow, Davidson said.
Plus, Canada has an aging population and needs to grow by adding immigrants, he said.
Wesam Abdelhamid Mohamed, a Western University student from Egypt, said it seems like there is no monitoring or plans to deal with the growth. “The main issue is looking at students as numbers not lives,” he said during a discussion on recruitment.
Francine Schlosser, the academic director of the Building Migrant Resilience in Cities Windsor City Network and a University of Windsor professor, said international students need more help dealing with issues such as loneliness, financial hardships and finding work so they can stay in Canada. More than half of the Express Entry immigrants to Canada are international students, she said.