Maple News reports that international students have emerged as the primary driver behind the growth in Canadian post-secondary enrolments, even before the COVID-19 pandemic forced a shift towards online learning.
A recent Statistics Canada analysis using 2018-2019 data as a reference point revealed international student enrolment increased by 16.2% over the previous year, while domestic student numbers declined by 0.5%. Overall, more than 2.1 million students were enrolled in Canadian colleges and universities that year, a 1.8% rise entirely attributed to the influx of international learners.
This surge continues a trend that began over a decade ago. From 2008 to 2018, the number of international students tripled—growing from just over 101,000 to more than 318,000. In contrast, domestic student enrolment in formal programs rose by only 10.9% during the same period. By 2018, international students made up 16.2% of all enrolments, a significant increase from 6.4% ten years earlier, accounting for 57.2% of total enrolment growth.
This increase coincides with a broader shift in how Canadian universities fund their operations. As public funding from provincial governments falls, post-secondary institutions are increasingly dependent on tuition fees. Between 2013 and 2018, tuition revenue as a share of total funding rose by 4.7%. International students, who typically pay significantly higher tuition, contributed around 40% of all tuition fees—amounting to a substantial $4 billion in 2018 alone.
Field of study preferences have also evolved. The fastest-growing area over the past decade was STEM—particularly in mathematics, computer science, and information technology—with enrolment increasing by 24.2%. Although these programs constituted just 5% of all enrolments in 2018, their rapid growth aligns with the 37% surge in digital economy jobs in Canada from 2010 to 2017, far outpacing the national economic growth rate of 8.6%.
Interestingly, while domestic interest in the humanities declined, international students largely maintained their numbers in these fields, suggesting a complex range of motivations for studying abroad—ranging from academic interest to broader immigration aspirations.
International students are not only shaping Canadian classrooms, but they are also significantly contributing to the national economy and workforce development. Their growth highlights Canada’s global appeal as a top-tier study destination and signals that higher education will continue playing a pivotal role in the country’s immigration and innovation strategy.