International students crown Canada top post-secondary destination

The 'New Horizons' research, which was conducted by IDP Connect and surveyed 3650 students from 55 countries in late August and early September, highlights Canada’s popularity as a place to live, pursue higher education, and secure employment. Oct.16/21 (Lyndsay Aelick/CTV News Northern Ontario)

SUDBURY -

Vrutta Padel is in her second year of the occupational therapist and physiotherapist assistant program at Cambrian College. 

 

“I come from the India and I specifically choose Canada as Canada has a lot of opportunity to greater future and I can get a job in my field,” says Padel. 

From being able to secure a part-time job right now, to hopefully opening up her own physiotherapy clinic here in the future, Padel says there are many reasons she wants to stay here in the north. 

“I really like Sudbury because it’s really beautiful and it’s really peaceful and I like to live around the nature.”

New research from IDP Connect finds that more than one-third of students surveyed (39 per cent) rate Canada as their first choice for post-secondary studies, followed by the US and UK (both at 17 per cent) and Australia at 16 per cent. 

 

Moreover, 69 per cent of respondents rank Canada as their most considered study destination. 

The “New Horizons” research, which was conducted by IDP Connect and surveyed 3650 students from 55 countries in late August and early September, highlights Canada’s popularity as a place to live, pursue higher education, and secure employment. 

 

The research finds that students are mainly motivated by future career opportunities in their study destination, while the decision of which institution to apply to and what subject to study are financially driven: A majority of students who choose Canada as a top option prioritize the ability to work part-time while studying (72 per cent), the affordability of tuition fees (66 per cent), and the cost of living (64 per cent).

 

Meantime Cambrian College enrollment has sky-rocketed. Over 1,400 international students from 43 countries are enrolled in full-time studies this semester. 

 

Officials say its numbers they are happy to see at what has been a challenging 18 months. 

 

“The federal government has done a great service to the college and our universities to allow international students to be exempt from the strict travel restrictions that came about during the start of the pandemic," says Imad Alsukkari, Director of Cambrian international.

 

“They’ve also introduced a number of measures including now for fully vaccinated international students to be able to come to Canada without having to quarantine.” 

 

After declining during the COVID-19 pandemic, the interest in international studies is quickly returning, with 71 per cent of respondents noting that they intend to study abroad within the next year.