Sask. universities see significant drop in international student enrolments
CBC
Saskatchewan used to be an education destination for international students. But the province's two universities are seeing a significant drop in those enrolments — enough to start having a financial impact.
According to the University of Regina's winter count, the university had 4,457 international students, making for a little less than a third of the university's total student population. International students at the University of Saskatchewan, on the other hand, made up for 14 per cent of the total student population in 2023-24.
Both the universities have reported a drop in enrolments this winter intake.
The U of R says the number of newly-admitted international students "has declined significantly" by more than 50 per cent this winter term compared to January 2024.
"This reduction means the number of incoming international students is not keeping pace with the number of continuing students who will soon finish their programs," U of R spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
U of R declined an interview to talk about the impact of the decrease.
14 per cent fewer international students made their way to the U of R in three fiscal years ago because of pandemic-related travel restrictions, according to the university's annual report.
The report says the drop in foreign students and a lesser decline in domestic student enrolment of four per cent "adversely" affected the institution's revenue-generating capacity that year.
U of S officials say they've not finalized their count yet, but preliminary numbers suggest a 20 per cent decrease. Jerome Cranston, vice-provost of students and learning at U of S, says the loss is more than just financial.
"What international students actually bring to the University of Saskatchewan, they bring potentially to the province if they decide to stay. That's something that we definitely are feeling a loss," he said.
Statistics Canada data for Saskatchewan shows that in the current academic year, international undergraduates paid an average of $31,540 in tuition, while domestic students paid $9,609.
International undergraduate students in Saskatchewan universities have also seen a 53 per cent jump in the cost of their tuition in the past five years. That increase was 16 per cent for Canadian undergraduate students, according to the statistics agency.
Cranston says the U of S is not immune to the financial hit, but that they also haven't completely relied on international students to balance their budgets.
"We are taking a look at our expenditures.... We, unlike other post secondary institutions, are not contemplating layoffs, we are not contemplating not filling positions."
The City of Edmonton is developing a wildfire strategy to mitigate risks within the municipality and help neighbouring regions, the city's emergency advisory committee heard Wednesday.
About 20 workers, students and local MPP candidates gathered outside Hamilton's Mohawk College Wednesday — where a fifth of full-time jobs have been cut since December — to call on the province to better fund post-secondary education.
In a busy race to Queen's Park, nine candidates are vying for the Sarnia—Lambton seat — a riding that's been conservative for nearly 20 years.
There's just over a year left in the Canada-Alberta child-care agreement and it's shaping up to be a rocky one for some parents, who — for this first time in the history of the agreement — will see their fees increase as a new phase of the program rolls out.
B.C. MLA Adrian Dix says he gets texts, emails, and even stopped at his local Safeway. He says people urge him to cut off power or even water to the U.S.
B.C. cities, in general, would be among the least vulnerable in Canada if U.S. President Donald Trump follows through on tariff threats, according to new data from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
Here's where and when you can vote in advance polls in Waterloo region, Guelph and Wellington County
Voting day is Feb. 27 in the Ontario election, but people can cast their ballots this week in advance polls.
Staff with Summerside Electric say they're not getting many updates from Maritime Electric after a failure at the utility's Sherbrooke substation over a week ago caused strain on the city's electrical grid.
The N.W.T.'s public utilities board has ordered the Northwest Territories Power Corporation (NTPC) to start paying Naka Power $48,500 per month to use a transmission line in the Hay River area, starting March 1.
Ideologically motivated violent extremist groups are using antisemitism in a bid to recruit followers and inspire violence, according to a report from Canada's spy agency.
It's a move that could reshape North American trade.
Ontario's main political parties are competing for the hearts of voters by appealing to their wallets, with a mix of tax cuts and money-back rebates pitched as helping with the cost of living.
With one full week to go before voting day, Elections Ontario is working to reverse a recent downward trend in voter turnout, which set a record low of 43 per cent the last time Ontarians went to the polls in 2022.