Ottawa inks $100M agreement for Indian international students
Despite promising to curb Canada’s reliance on foreign students, the Carney government announced plans to boost the number of Indian students entering the country with a new $100M agreement.
Author: Quinn Patrick
Despite promising to curb Canada’s reliance on foreign students, the Carney government announced plans to boost the number of Indian students entering the country with a new $100M agreement, claiming it will create more “cultural and educational opportunities.”
The Canada-India Talent and Innovation Strategy will fund 300 Indian student researcher positions and provide up to $100 million from the University of Toronto for up to 200 fully funded scholarships for Indian students.
The announcement comes one year after then-immigration minister Marc Miller demanded post-secondary institutions reduce their dependence on Indian international students, calling on them to broaden recruitment strategies.
“Universities and colleges need to put a little more effort into the price of acquisition and invest more in the talent that you’re bringing here, and that includes going to more countries and expanding your resources,” Miller said in February 2025.
Indian students received the largest share of international study permits issued in the last several years, accounting for 189,070 of the total 518,125 in 2024.
Chinese students accounted for the second most at 56,550.
“I would say universities and colleges have been going to one or two source countries and constantly going back to the well on that and we expect the diversity of students,” Miller told reporters at the time.
The government is covering an additional $10 million in scholarships and fellowships, which includes support for over 85 Canadian graduate students and researchers to study in and collaborate with leading Indian academics.
“India is the fastest-growing major economy and a powerhouse of global commerce and technology. In a rapidly changing world, Canada and India are transforming their economies to be more diversified, more independent, and more resilient,” said Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday.
“Our strategic partnership, and the speed at which we are working to unleash its potential in energy, talent, and AI, is the result of two confident, ambitious nations who want to build the future, together.”
Thirteen new memorandums of understanding (MOUs) were signed between Indian and Canadian universities to facilitate greater study and exchange opportunities, including with the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, Dalhousie University, University of Guelph, Brock University, and Royal Roads University.
An MOU on cultural cooperation was also inked. It will include Canadian universities’ collaboration “in the performing arts, visual arts, music, books, and other creative industries, as well as entertainment technologies.”
In 2023, a review of around 2,000 suspicious student visas found that approximately 1,485 applicants had submitted fake letters of admission to colleges and universities.
The bulk of the fraudulent applicants came from India, China and Vietnam.
Additionally, thousands of asylum claims have been filed by international students attending universities and colleges across Canada over the last several years.