Canada has emerged as a leading destination for higher education; between 2016-2019, the country experienced a 300% increase in university applications from Bangladeshi students alone, and this trend is expected to accelerate. However, Canada’s socio-economic metrics of growth and living standards have plunged in recent years, prompting skepticism regarding the prospects of new arrivals.
Canada is suffering from a housing market bubble. There are a wide array of issues all contributing to the skyrocketing housing price levels. Between May and August of this year, rent increased by an average of $103 (CAD) per month, leading to record-high prices.
The living costs in the largest cities, like Toronto and Vancouver, are unaffordable for all but the most affluent, with a single-bedroom apartment in Toronto costing the equivalent of Tk4 crore. This forces some migrants to settle in more remote provinces where they lose out on the best jobs and education opportunities. Some are abandoning their hopes as they move back to their home country or across the border to America.
As quoted by Toronto Metropolitan University professor Marshia Akbar, "For this generation of immigrants, they are not going to work in low-skilled jobs and wait for 10 years to catch up and get to work as an engineer or as a banker. They get their residency, but they don't even wait for their citizenship."
Spiraling living costs are not the only hurdle faced by international students. Those from the most vulnerable backgrounds have become the target of mass exploitation. Government ministries have failed to match pace with the uncontrolled expansion of Canada’s education sector. The resulting lack of supervision has allowed profiteering agencies to develop predatory strategies to feed off the ambitions of unassuming international students, who are hooked with promises of placement at renowned universities and guaranteed employment, only to be admitted to a bottom-tier career college in the backwaters of a suburb.
A recent occurrence exemplifies this growing plague at Northern College. Approximately 500 international students who were supposed to commence their studies at Northern College in Ontario this year had their admission offers revoked due to visa over-subscription, arising from mismanagement by Canadian government authorities, as reported by CBC News. Northern College was aware of potential visa approval complications when these enrollments were processed, and yet made no attempts to reach a solution. The life savings of countless families are being siphoned by such fraudulent practices, without any possibility of compensation.
The adverse economic climate has led to falling real income, fueling social unrest. Political divides have become ever-apparent. Heated debates between liberal and conservative ideologies have begun escalating into altercations. Crime rates are on the rise, with areas as prominent as downtown Vancouver becoming rampant with drug abuse and street-violence.
A prominent example is the verbal assault and threatening of a journalist while filming for a documentary titled “Canada’s Woke Nightmare.” The impression of absolute security in Canada is slowly fading, and foreign students are forced to bear the brunt of this new reality.
It is imperative for applicants to maintain due diligence when planning to study in a foreign country, even if that country is deemed a “first-world utopia” like Canada. Indeed, the grass is not always greener on the other side.
Kazi Rafsan Mahboob is a student at Sir John Wilson School.