An updated analysis from Global Affairs Canada (GAC) estimates that the combined direct and indirect Canadian GDP contribution of all students expenditures in the country amounted to CDN$30.9 billion (US$23 billion) in 2022.
Impact of International Students on the Canadian Economy in 2022
In 2022, education exports from international students in Canada totaled CDN$37.3 billion, making up 23% of service exports. The report adds that, “In 2022, the total amount of international student spending (CDN$37.3 billion) surpassed the value of Canada’s exports in many product categories, for example, wood and wood products (CDN$25.7 billion), fertilizers (CDN$17.9 billion), or electrical or electronic machinery and equipment (CDN$19.2 billion). Total international student spending in 2022 was equivalent to about 4.8% of the total value of Canada’s merchandise exports.”
Also for 2022, international student spending is estimated to support 361,230 jobs in Canada, or 246,310 FTE positions.
Growth of International Canadian Students : Provincial Trends and Highlights
The number of study permit holders in Canada increased over sixfold in the past two decades, with all provinces gaining. Ontario had the most international students, but Prince Edward Island saw the highest percentage increase, over 1,800%. Ontario hosted just over half of all international students in the country (51%) in 2022. British Columbia accounted for nearly a quarter (22%), and Quebec another 12%.
The GAC analysis attributes 97% of the economic impact to long-term students enrolled for six months or more. The following table breaks that long-term-student spending down into per-student averages for various levels of study.
Not surprisingly, GAC finds that India has been the big driver of that recent-year growth: “Detailed data indicates that of the top source countries for long-term students, the biggest increase was from India (+47%, with 319,130 study permit holders in 2022)…Other top source countries for long-term international students that experienced strong increase between 2021 and 2022 include:
- Philippines (+112% to 32,455)
- Hong Kong (+73% to 13,100)
- Nigeria (+60% to 21,660)
- Colombia (+54% to 12,440)”
The other significant feature that comes through in the GAC estimates is just how quickly the economic impact of international students has expanded over the past decade. Overall student spending more than doubled between 2016 and 2022 alone, from CDN$15.5 billion to CDN$37.3 billion, for an average annual increase of nearly 16% per year.
That pattern would have certainly continued in 2023, a year after the period of the current GAC analysis, when foreign enrolment in Canada climbed by 29% year-over-year. Even a crude extrapolation of the GAC figures from the year before would suggest that international students’ contribution to Canadian GDP would have approached CDN$40 billion (US$30 billion) in 2023
