Impact of international student enrollment on domestic students in Canada

From 2010-2019, the number of international students at Canadian public post-secondary institutions increased from 142,200 to 388,800. Now, over 800,000 international students study at all levels in Canada. This surge raised concerns about the impact on domestic enrollment. However, a Statistics Canada study showed a positive relationship between domestic and international enrollment. The study focused on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and Business, Humanities, Arts, Social Sciences, and Education (BHASE) programs. It found that increased international enrollment did not affect domestic enrollment at the institution level. However, a positive correlation was seen in STEM and BHASE courses: as international enrollment rose, so did domestic enrollment. This was stronger for BHASE programs in post-secondary non-tertiary and short-cycle tertiary programs. No correlation was found at the graduate level within STEM programs, but a positive correlation was seen in BHASE graduate programs.