Canadian Universities Report $7.3 Billion in Surplus Revenues in 2020/21

Canadian universities’ surpluses have hit a total of $7.3 billion from international student tuition during the 2020/21 academic year, according to Statistics Canada, a Canadian governmental agency.

Data indicate that this figure is the highest since 2000, when Statistics Canada started to collect data, Erudera.com reports.

According to figures, revenues at universities increased to $46.3 billion while expenses dropped by 3.8 percent or to $39 billion.

The same source has reported that international students in Canada pay for tuition three times more than domestic students.

“This trend may be related to a steady shift towards more reliance on tuition fees – particularly from international students – to fund universities’ operating activities,” the report noted.

The Canadian Federation of Students has required provinces in the country to make efforts for a more accessible education for all students. It also described the international student fee differential as “exorbitant.”

Annually, international students in Canada contribute nearly $21 billion to the country’s economy through spending on tuition and fees.

According to Statista, the data provider, there were be more than 600,000 international students in Canada in 2021. That year, the majority of international students came from India, China, France, the United States, Nigeria, Mexico, Iran, Vietnam, the Philippines, and the Republic of Korea.

Recently, International Student Survey by the Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE) revealed that about 73 percent of international students who studied in the country in 2021 said that they want to stay in Canada after graduation. The survey involving more than 40,000 international students showed that 72.6 percent of students planned to apply for a post-graduate permit, while only 7.4 percent said that they were not planning to do so.

“When asked to describe their post-graduation plans, student respondents’ most frequently cited plan was to work for up to three years in Canada and then pursue permanent residency (43.3 percent),” the survey pointed out.

Furthermore, the same source revealed that 80 percent of overseas students would like to remain in Canada because of the safety and stability, while nearly 70 percent initially choose to study in the country because of the quality of education.

Canada is also known as a tolerant and not discriminatory country; hence 50.2 percent of students like the country because of such an environment.

The Campus Advisor survey has ranked Canada among the best countries for international students, with the University of British Columbia being the favorite for students coming from abroad.

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