5. Trends in international student enrolment and economic impacts in Canada

Roslyn Kunin and Associates (RKA) has so far helped to prepare estimates of international student spending and the associated economic impacts in six years – 2008, 2010, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2022 – in five separate studies, dated 2009, 2012, 2016, 2017 and 2023. While the studies prepared in 2016 and 2017, as well as in 2023, essentially follow the same methodological approach as the earlier reports prepared in 2009 and 2012, there are differences in the data sources, assumptions and the model specification, in addition to the use of more recent data for impact estimates in 2014 through 2022. Nevertheless, readers will be able to gain knowledge of the magnitude of the impacts.

In this section, we show comparable values, where applicable, and highlight the trends of international student enrolment and the growing economic impacts of these students on Canada’s economy.

Comparison of the number of International Students

Table 13 below shows how the number of international students has changed from 2008 to 2022.^[1]

Between 2008 and 2016, the number of international students studying in Canada increased by 87.0%, or at an average annual rate of 8.1%. The increase is mainly attributed to the number of long-term students, those who study for longer than six months in a given year. Enrolment in this category of students more than doubled between 2008 and 2016, growing at 10.9% per year.

Between 2015 and 2016, the number of international students grew an impressive 14.4%, most of which was the results of an increase in long-term students from India studying at the college level.

The year 2022 saw the highest ever number of long-term students in Canada, after a dip in 2020 and 2021 due to travel restrictions brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic. Study permit holders from India alone increased by 47% from the year prior, to 319,130 in 2022.

The number of short-term students in 2022 has been derived from Languages Canada’s 2022 Annual Report. It should be noted that the drastic decline in the number of students when compared with student numbers prior to 2019 reflects the severe negative impact due to the Covid-19 pandemic and therefore does not reflect the strength of the sector.

From the table above, it is shown that the total number of international students in Canada has increased by 61.2% from 2016 to 2022, at an impressive growth rate of 8.3% per year.

Comparison of overall spending

Table 14 below depicts the values of total annual spending by international students from 2014 to 2022.

Between 2016 and 2022, the total annual international student spending more than doubled, from $15.5 billion in 2016 to more than $37.3 billion in 2022. This represents a 15.7% increase per year. Between 2014 and 2022, total spending of international students increased at a rate of 16.0% per year. The rate of increase in overall student spending is substantially faster than the rate of increase in the number of international students, reflecting the rise in cost of education, as well as the rise in cost of living in recent years.

Comparison of combined direct and indirect impacts

Finally, we present the values of combined economic impacts of the total annual spending of international students on the Canadian economy.

As noted in the table, the combined direct and indirect GDP impact of international student spending increased 232% (or more than tripled) between 2014 and 2022, which equals an annual growth rate of 16.2%. International student spending directly and indirectly supported 361,000 jobs in Canada in 2022, an increase of 194% over 2014 (or, almost tripled). Government tax revenue derived from international student spending rose from $2.1 billion in 2014 to $7.4 billion in 2022, an increase of 253%, that is, more than tripled. That means, directly and indirectly, tax revenue increased at a rate of 17.1% per year between 2014 and 2022.