Liisa Cormode, Ph.D.
Adjunct Professor, University of Saskatchewan

Three-quarters of new immigrants to Canada each year settle in three Census Metropolitan Areas: greater Toronto, greater Montreal, and greater Vancouver. This means that the economic benefits – and costs – of immigrant settlement accrue largely to these centres, rather than being shared more equally across the urban system as a whole. Of the four significant immigrant classes (skilled workers, business, family and refugees), skilled workers are the most likely to settle in the three largest cities (see Table 2 in "Regional Immigration Statistics, 1997-2000").

Following the example of Australia, some policymakers have suggested that one means of addressing the spatial concentration of new immigrants is to make it easier for international students at Canadian post-secondary institutions to apply for permanent residence. It is argued that international students who have studied in centres other than the three largest cities may be more likely to remain there, having established a good support system. These students would also be familiar with Canadian culture, have a good knowledge of at least one official language, and possess a Canadian degree. They would thus be able to integrate quickly, with relatively few barriers to labour market entry.

This policy option is extremely controversial. On the one hand, it would significantly increase the attractiveness of Canadian universities to prospective international students. Some policymakers and business leaders also argue that this strategy could help to resolve skill shortages in high-tech occupations. This option is opposed by some provincial ministries of education, and people who work with international students, on the grounds that it promotes "brain drain" from Third World countries. In addition, universities face a loss of revenue from the differential fee paid by international students who are awarded permanent residence during their studies.

Proposed regulations to accompany the new Immigration and Refugee Protection Act would make it easier for international students to apply for permanent residence by awarding points for one year of authorized work in Canada and/or two years of post-secondary study in Canada. Temporary foreign workers, including some students, would be able to apply for and obtain permanent residence from within Canada. In addition, this research project suggests that other proposed regulations would indirectly facilitate permanent residence applications from international students, either generally or for specific groups.

To explore the issue of whether making it easier for international students to apply for permanent residence might result in more settlement in Prairie cities, this project uses as case studies two public universities located in two different Prairie cities. The criteria for selecting these universities were: being the only large university in the CMA, presently providing information about permanent residence to international students (and hence open to participating in this project), marketing the university to students in a variety of countries, and offering a range of undergraduate and graduate programs (most international undergraduate students are not eligible to apply for permanent residence).

Both universities studied have over 15,000 students. University A, unlike most Canadian universities, charges little or no differential fee for international students registered in non-professional graduate programs. It offers several study areas found in a limited number of Canadian universities, programs which attract many international students and have resulted in the creation of local companies spun off from the university. University A provides considerable information and assistance to students concerning permanent residence. It is located in a city of over 200,000 people that is growing relatively slowly. This city receives relatively few immigrants.

In contrast, University B charges significant differential fees for all international students. It provides its students with less information and help in applying for permanent residence. Undergraduate students account for a larger share of the international student population, with a relatively large number of exchange students. The university is located in a city of over 4000,000 people that is growing fairly quickly and which attracts a relatively large number of immigrants.

A questionnaire was sent to all full-time and part-time international students registered at the two universities between March 14 and April 10. The questionnaire asks about: students’ background and educational program, their intention to apply for post-graduation work experience, knowledge of other parts of Canada (through studies, travel or the location of friends and relatives), how they learnt that international students can apply for permanent residence, information sources and difficulties encountered in seeking to learn about permanent residence, their intention to apply, their reasons for doing so (including easier access to work in the U.S.), any difficulties experienced in applying for permanent residence, factors influencing where they would live in Canada if they received permanent residence, intention to stay in the city where they presently resided, and their plans after graduation.

In addition, interviews are being conducted with students who have applied for or received permanent residence, former international students who have settled in the city in which they studied, staff of International Student Offices at the universities studied, local CIC staff, and university faculty and others who have helped students apply for permanent residence. The content of approximately 80 e-mails and anonymous phone calls received from students during this project will also be analyzed.

Preliminary analysis of questionnaire data shows that the majority of respondents would like to apply for permanent residence, while 10% have done so and 23% do not intend to do so. The majority of respondents learnt that international students can apply for permanent residence before the end of their first year, with some discovering this before they arrived in Canada. The majority of the students (50% at University A and 64% at University B) stated that they would like to stay in the same city if they received permanent residence and were able to do so. Qualitative data collected during this study suggests strongly that there are different processes at work in the two universities. In particular, enrollment at Universty A (and its ESL feeder school) are used by some students as part of a strategy to obtain permanent residence.