Canada Sees About $31 Billion Economic Boost from International Students

International students contributed about $31 billion to the Canadian economy in 2022 and supported about 361,230 jobs, according to data released by the Government of Canada.

The updated Global Affairs Canada (GAC) analysis shows international students spent about $37.3 billion on “tuition, accommodation, and discretionary items” in 2022, Erudera.com reports.

“After accounting for Canadian scholarships and bursaries, the total annual expenditures of international students, including their visiting families and friends, contributed $37.3 billion to economic activities in Canada in 2022. This translates into a $30.9 billion contribution to Canada’s GDP in 2022, or 1.2 percent of Canada’s GDP,” the update says.

Over the years, international students’ contribution to the Canadian economy through their overall spending in the country was:

• $11.4 billion in 2014
• $12.8 billion in 2015
• $15.5 billion in 2016
• $37.3 billion in 2022

Based on these figures, international student spending in Canada more than doubled between 2016 and 2022. Meanwhile, the number of jobs international students supported during the same years was:

• 122,680 jobs in 2014
• 140,010 jobs in 2015
• 168,860 jobs in 2016
• 361,233 jobs (or 246,310 FTE positions) in 2022

There were more than 844,444 international students studying in Canada in 2022. Of this figure, students from India, especially those pursuing college degrees, contributed the most to increasing the number of long-term students in the country. In the same year, there were 319,130 Indians with study permits in Canada.

Other countries that experienced growth in their students to Canada include:

• Philippines (112 percent increase to 32,455)
• Hong Kong (73 percent increase to 13,100)
• Nigeria (60 percent increase to 21,660)
• Colombia (54 percent increase to 12,440)

Of all international students, the majority (432,272) moved to Ontario, Canada’s most populous province. These students made the largest GDP contribution, with $16.9 billion, or 54.6 percent of the $30.9 billion figure, followed by 18.4 percent in British Columbia and 12.4 percent in Quebec.

“Although Ontario attracted the greatest number of international students, it is worth noting that Prince Edward Island recorded the highest percentage increase in the number of study permit holders – from 2000 to 2022, the percentage increase has been over 1,800 percent,” the report adds.

According to the analysis, international students who enrolled in programs that usually last six or more months generated almost 97 percent of the total economic contribution.

Official data indicate that the number of international students in Canada increased to 1,040,985 last year, a 29 percent increase from 2022.

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