In a major revealing, it is seen that in recent years, Ontario’s public colleges, particularly those in northern Ontario, have experienced a significant influx of international students, with a staggering 80 per cent of enrollees at Northern College hailing from abroad, the majority from India.
This trend is mirrored in other institutions, such as North Bay’s Canadore College, where 70 per cent of students are international, and an overwhelming 94 per cent of them identify India as their home country.
The root of this surge lies in partnerships forged between northern Ontario’s public colleges and their counterparts in the more southern reaches of the province. Over the past decade, these collaborations have proven crucial in sustaining operations in the northern campuses. The appeal is clear: by capitalizing on the booming demand for public college diplomas in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), institutions can secure the necessary funds to thrive.
A 2021 report from the office of the province’s auditor general underscored the financial significance of this arrangement. It revealed that without the revenue generated from international student fees through partnerships with private colleges, institutions like Canadore, Cambrian, and Northern College could have faced annual losses in recent years.
Distinctly, despite the challenges posed by the global COVID-19 pandemic, the reliance on international student programs has only intensified since 2019.
This reliance on international students is not unique to northern Ontario; it’s a nationwide phenomenon. However, the data is particularly striking in the province of Ontario with projections for the 2023-24 school year indicating that international students will constitute a remarkable 50 per cent of the student body in the province’s public colleges.
What’s more, according to Alex Usher, president of Education Strategy Associates in Toronto, Indian students, in particular, contribute significantly to the college system, surpassing the financial input of both Canadian students and the government of Ontario.
