Expert warns of potential fallout if Indian student flows drop off

Colleges, universities and communities across Canada would be impacted if political tensions were to affect the flow of Indian students to Canada, according to the president of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada.

After the Canadian and Indian governments halted visa services between the two countries on Thursday, Jeff Nankivell told BNN Bloomberg that the freeze could risk impacting a major source of funding for Canadian universities and colleges.

“The single greatest economic relationship is around the student flows to Canada,” he said in a television interview.

His comments came during a week of escalating tensions between Canada and India. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday that there were “credible allegations” of Indian government involvement in the killing of Sikh independence activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen who was shot dead in June outside a B.C. temple.