India Canada Diplomatic Row: Implication For International Students

The Drift Between India & Canada Relations: The Reason

In the recent Canada news, the escalations between India and Canada’s dispute have been accentuated following the allegations made by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He has claimed Indian involvement in the killing of Khalistani separatist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar. This has sparked a serious row of blame games between both countries. This news raises a lot of concerns for the Indian students who desire to study in Canada or are currently admitted to the prestigious Canadian Universities. This development has now clasped over 400,000 students currently residing in Canada along with prospective applicants into uncertainty.

Following the remarks made by the Canadian Prime Minister, India expelled six members of the Canadian High Commission in Delhi. In a chain reaction to this, Canada too expelled many Indian diplomats residing in the country. Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly also blamed India for harbouring Khalistani terrorists, suggesting, “Everything is on the table.” Following the India Canada row, there has not been any update on any new travel restrictions being imposed as yet. Although a rift in 2023 had caused temporary suspensions of Canada visa for Indian students, it is being anticipated this time too.

India Canada Row: Impact on Indian & International Students in Canada

Indian students in Canada particularly accounted for around 40.7% of the total international student population in the country, which comes down to around 278,250 students in the year 2023. Up until August’24 around 137,445 Indian students have received their study permits for Canada which is around 36.7% of the total international student population. A 4% drop was observed here. This is most likely due to the international student cap introduced by Canada which was the initial few actions seen to aggravate the ongoing India Canada row. The country also introduced various changes to its visa and study permit processes which has significantly slowed down the processes for student applications to study in Canada.

In light of the recent India Canada news, despite various restrictions, Canada still houses around 600,000 Indian students including new admissions and those who have continued with their further studies. However, the specialists have observed a sharp drop in the number of Indian students interested in immigrating to Canada for higher studies. This was a result of the various new restrictions are being implemented by the country every few months. 

It is to be noted that Indian students spend around USD 11.7 Billion per year on higher education in Canada according to the Indian Student Mobility Report 2023-24. This is a huge amount of money that Canada as a top international student attraction would think twice before compromising on and will make efforts to continue to improve upon the visa processes and other student welfare programs. As the season has passed, these developments in India Canada row aren’t impacting the current set of students who have moved to Canada. Further developments in this dispute-like situation within both countries will be the deciding factor of the Indian student's future in the country.