Canada now has the fourth-largest international student population in the world behind the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.
According to research by the Canadian Bureau for International Education, international students are drawn to Canada by the quality of education provided by its universities and colleges.
They are also drawn by Canada’s reputation as an open and welcoming society.
Perhaps Canada’s greatest advantage is its study-work-immigrate package.
International students are eligible to work in Canada to support themselves financially during their studies. Upon completing their studies, many of them are eligible to obtain a Post-Graduation Work Permit so that they can gain more Canadian work experience for a period of up to three years.
They can then apply for the more than 80 economic class immigration programs offered by the federal government as well as provinces and territories. Many of these programs give preference to former international students in their selection criteria
since federal government research shows that former international students integrate very quickly into the Canadian economy