Canadian universities have been consistently raising tuition fees for international students on an annual basis, leading to increased revenue from this group. In contrast, domestic students either experience lower tuition fees or see more stability without annual fluctuations in their tuition costs.
A recent survey conducted by Tuition and Living Accommodation Costs revealed that in 2020, international students contributed 43.5 percent of the total tuition fees collected by Canadian universities, despite representing only 17 percent of the entire student population in the country during that period.
Canadian universities have been consistently raising tuition fees for international students on an annual basis, leading to increased revenue from this group. In contrast, domestic students either experience lower tuition fees or see more stability without annual fluctuations in their tuition costs.
TLAC does not calculate the overall tuition fees paid by international students across Canada, nor does it maintain records of this population categorized by the level of study. Instead, Statistics Canada tracks the fees incurred by international students based on their undergraduate or graduate programs.
Statistics Canada reports that tuition fees for international undergraduate students in the 2022-2023 academic year have risen by eight percent compared to the previous year, resulting in an average payment of CAD36,123 (about $26,700).
Certain programs, including veterinary medicine, now require students to pay CAD 68,256 (about $50,000), while dentistry courses have tuition fees of CAD59,515 (about 44,000), and medicine programs cost CAD58,790 (about $43,000) for international students.
For the 2023-24 academic year, the University of British Columbia raised tuition fees for international students by five percent and three percent for returning students continuing their studies. This change is anticipated to result in an extra CAD54 million (about $40 million) in tuition revenue for UBC compared to the previous year.
Laurentian University recently approved a tuition fee increase for all its programs. The university raised tuition fees by five percent, resulting in a yearly cost of CAD 31,500 (about $23,000) for students studying at Laurentian, compared to the previous amount of CAD 30,000 (about $22,000).
Despite the rise in tuition fees, Canada remains a highly sought-after study-abroad destination for international students. In the previous year, Canadian universities saw a total of 807,750 international students across all education levels, with 373,599 of them enrolling in higher education programs.
International students play a significant role in Canada’s economy, contributing over $22.3 billion annually and supporting around 200,000 jobs.
