Canada welcomes record 226,450 Indian students in 2022
Darpan News Desk IANS, 21 Feb, 2023 11:30 AM
Toronto, Feb 21 (IANS) With 226,450 students, India has become the top source of new international students entering Canada in 2022, according to data released by the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
The North American nation set an immigration record by welcoming 551,405 international students from 184 countries in 2022.
India was closely followed by China and the Philippines with 52,165 and 23,380 students, respectively.
In 2021, a total of 444,260 new study permits took effect, an increase from the 400,600 in 2019.
In 2019, there were 637,860 international students in Canada -- a number which decreased in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and rebounded in 2021 to a total 617,315.
India was also among the top 10 source countries of international students already living and studying in Canada as of December 31, 2022, with 319,130 students.
According to IRCC, most new study permits are now being processed within the 60-day service standard in Canada.
The country, which processed an all-time high of 4.8 million visa applications in 2022, remains a top destination for Indian students due to the standard of education, lower costs, obtaining work, and immigration opportunities post-graduation.
Foreign students contribute more than $15.3 billion annually to the economy, according to the Canadian government.
Each year tens of thousands of graduates who chose to immigrate permanently to the country become a source of young, educated workers.
According to Statistics Canada, international students who get permanent residence tend to integrate quickly into the Canadian labour market due to their previous experience of living in the country on visas.
Premier David Eby told a news conference Monday that the province will also spend $1.3 million to set up a new pathway for internationally trained nurses and assess applications faster. Candidates are waiting up to three years now, but he said the government's goal is to cut that wait down to between four and nine months.
Police say all three are believed to be members of same family and no one else was found on the property. No details of the ages or genders of the deceased have been released.
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Satbir Singh Cheema’s contributions to his community have not gone unnoticed. He has led many initiatives to identify service gaps in the community to be able to advance the mission of PICS. Under his leaderships and guidance PICS Society has expanded their services in many areas and locations, reaching and helping thousands of people.
Thousands of Canadians had their flights cancelled or delayed due to poor weather, while hundreds of others were left stranded in Mexico after the vacation airline Sunwing axed their trips home. The company has since apologized and said the cancellations were due to winter storms that swept across the country before Christmas Day.
It says after a lengthy investigation by the department's major crime unit, three charges each of sexual assault and sexual interference have been laid against Pastor Edwin Alvarez. Police haven't released which Christian church the pastor was caring for, other than to say it was at a small, Metro Vancouver location.
