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 Bank of Canada's aggressive interest rate hikes this year have raised the cost of interest charges it pays on settlement balances deposited in the accounts of big banks. That's while the income the central bank receives from government bonds it holds remains fixed.
The Canadian government is looking to curb domestic plastic pollution by the end of the decade as negotiations toward a formal plastics management treaty begin this week in Uruguay. Canada is one of nearly three dozen countries lobbying heavily for an international agreement that would end global plastic pollution by 2040.
But for those lamenting the season ahead, chief meteorologist Chris Scott says January and February will offer some respite from a front-loaded winter as spells of milder weather transition between Western and Eastern Canada.
While no specific targets or benchmarks are included in the strategy, and questions remain over how effectively the dollars will be spent, the heightened focus on the region is being celebrated by agriculture groups in Canada.
A statement from the two trustees says the Vancouver police department hasn't adequately addressed the issue of racism within its ranks, so "cannot be trusted to seriously consider and address the safety and well-being of Black and Indigenous students" in area schools.
Nanaimo, Port Alberni and West Vancouver could see accumulations of nearly 25 centimetres by Wednesday morning while about 15 centimetres is expected for Greater Vancouver and Interior communities including Williams Lake and Lytton.
