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.
The benefit, to be used toward dental services, is available for children under 12 in families that earn less than $90,000 a year and ranges from $260 to $650 per child depending on net income.
It's a record that will likely be beaten more than once in the coming years, as a Canadian federal immigration plan released earlier this month aims to admit 465,000 new permanent residents in 2023 and 500,000 a year by 2025, with a particular focus on bringing in people with needed skills and experience.
British Columbia was the first to sign on, inking a $3.2-billion deal in July 2021 with plans to create 30,000 new child-care spaces within five years and 40,000 within seven years. B.C. started a $10-a-day program at select facilities in 2018 and plans to double those spaces to 12,500 this month.
It boosts annual salaries for new teachers as much as $8,500 by the end of the third year while B.C.'s highest-paid educators will earn up to $13,500 more over the same period, which Johnston says pushes them above the $100,000-per-year threshold for the first time.
Arctic outflow warnings have been posted for B.C.’s central and northern coasts, with the wind chill predicted at minus 20. Special weather statements are also up for most of Vancouver Island and the south coast, with icy conditions and wind chills near minus 10.
The coroner says the October statistics show that illicit drugs caused the deaths of 1,827 people in B.C. in the first 10 months of this year. Chief coroner Lisa Lapointe says the increased toxicity and variability of street drugs has created an environment where everyone who uses substances is at risk.
