Appendix 3: Reconciliation of the study estimates with valuation by Statistics Canada

In the report, we compared our estimates of the value of international student spending in a given year with Statistics Canada’s valuation. Statistics Canada reported that Canada’s receipt of foreign exchange dollars from international student was valued at $22.26 billion in 2021.^[1] In our study, we estimated that total annual spending by international students and their visiting families and friends was valued at almost $37.3 billion in the same year. In this appendix, we reconcile our estimates with Statistics Canada's valuation.

In Statistics Canada’s valuation, “international transactions in services are a major component of the Current account of the Balance of payments. Services are grouped under four major categories: travel, transportation, commercial services and government services.” Spending by international students includes education-related travel, which is defined as follows:^[2],^[3]

In theory, education-related travel should include all expenditures in another country by students. But for practical reasons, Canadian statistics include only outlays of post-secondary students; that is, only outlays on full-time university and college programs, which generally extend over more than one year, are included. Recorded outlays include all expenditures by post-secondary students studying abroad – that is, expenditures for tuition fees and course materials, together with accommodation and general living expenses. Except as incidentally covered in other personal travel, spending for primary and secondary schooling remains to be estimated in Canadian statistics. Certain further expenditures on institutional education (such as for personal interest courses) also remain in other personal travel because of data limitations.

Therefore, it is important to note that the Statistics Canada’s valuation we compared with is limited to the cost of education and living expenses for full-time post-secondary international students. In our report, our valuation included the expenditures of students who were in K-12 schools and in other programs, including students in programs shorter than six months. Our valuation also included expenditures incurred by visiting family and friends.

Statistics Canada’s valuation of international student spending in 2022 would have been based on the number of international students in post-secondary systems, about 400,521 or lower,^[4] and their expenditures on tuition, food, accommodations and transportation for an academic year of eight months. Cost of education plus cost-of-living expense would have been estimated to be approximately $55,600 per student.

In RKA’s calculation, to estimate the number of post-secondary students in Canada in 2022 who were in college programs and in universities, we relied on values from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s estimate of study permit holders as of December 31 of that year. Of the total 807,260 study permit holders, 651,235 were study permit holders pursuing post‑secondary training in Canada. We derived per-student expenditures (net of Canadian scholarships and bursaries) as follows:

• Those in college programs: $42,807 per year in 2022, assuming 8 months of study and 12 months of living expenses.
• Those in university programs: $53,805 per year in 2022, assuming 8 months of study and 12 months of living expenses.

Therefore, total expenditures for post-secondary students in 2022 was valued at $32.3 billion.

In addition to post-secondary students in trades/college programs and universities, we included students in the K-12 system (with expenditures on tuition and homestay for 10 months), and other students whose level of study was not clear but who were included in IRCC’s data. Total expenditures for these long-term students (meaning IRCC requires them to hold a valid study permit while they stay in Canada to study longer than six months in a calendar year) was $3.9 billion.

The last segment of international student population is short-term students, who do not require a study permit to pursue training generally shorter than six months long. These students include those who are pursuing language training or other short-term vocational training. For practical reasons, we have obtained data only from Languages Canada and therefore have valued expenditures from this source. For these 74,930 students, the total number of student weeks was estimated to be 829,401 and total expenditures to be $838.2 million.

In addition to student expenditures related to tuition, fees and living expenses, we estimated spending by visiting family members and friends. The value of spending attributed to visiting family members and friends was estimated to be $280.7 million.

Combining the spending of long-term and short-term students, as well as their visiting family members and friends, yields a total expenditure value of $37.3 billion in our estimate.