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.
RCMP is still investigating the circumstances, however there are early indications the shooting was targeted and may have involved several suspects who fled the area. Investigators are still gathering details from witnesses who were at the home at the time of the shooting.
The Canada Border Services Agency says the two countries are exploring "shorter-term measures" to shrink a backlog of applications. At the Thousand Islands crossing between Ontario and New York, in-person Nexus interviews are being conducted separately by U.S. and Canadian agents on opposite sides of the border.
The idea, which is expected to cost a total of $20 million a year, has already received significant criticism from more than two dozen people speaking against the motion at an earlier meeting.
A statement from the Prince Rupert detachment says the 44-year-old man had been in critical condition following the attack on the unnamed woman at a local mall early Monday. The 52-year-old victim died before she could be taken to hospital.
Six of the farms are in Abbotsford and one is in Chilliwack, in the Fraser Valley, the same area where more than 17 million birds were culled in 2004 when avian flu swept through numerous farms. The ministry says producers within a 10-kilometre radius have been notified and all infected farms have been placed under quarantine by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
Via release, the suspect is described as a South Asian or dark-skinned male, 25-30 years old with a short beard, large nose, large lips, and approximately 5'8” to 6’ tall. He was wearing a black puffer jacket, red t-shirt, black jeans, black shoes, black toque with a brown bobble on top, and with Airpods in his ears.
