As per the report released on August 9, Canadian universities scraped in a colossal 7.3 billion Canadian dollars in surplus remuneration during the 2020-21 fiscal year — and part of that success can be associated with international students. The figure is the highest number of revenue documented to date since the government agency commenced collecting data in 2000.

According to a separate report by StatCan Provincial funding accounted for a substantial contributor to university revenues at CA$15.1 billion, observed by tuition and other fees at CA$13.3 billion. Of the latter amount, overseas students contributed an estimated CA$5.1 billion — approximately 12.2% of total university earnings.

Despite worries over enrolment numbers and virtual learning, Canadian universities did not lose money during the pandemic. Where provincial budgets were lacerated to tertiary education, these institutions were capable to make up for the profit margin through decreased expenses when campuses were temporarily shut down. Lucrative returns from stock and real estate investments and raised tuition fees inflamed the spiking revenue boom further.

Do International students get their money’s worth from Canadian universities?

When these tertiary institutions became more dependent on tuition fees, overseas students got the shorter end of the stick. Unlike domestic fees- international fees are decontroled in Canadian universities meaning that the school can charge any amount they like at any given year.

On average, international students pay roughly three times more than locals to get a Canadian degree, and the costs have been rapidly growing each year. For example, an undergraduate engineering programme at the University of Toronto (UofT) costs over CA$60,000 yearly for foreigners compared to just a little over CA$14,000 for domestic students. Quoting a university spokesperson, the Toronto Star informed that UofT scored CA$4 billion in revenue in 2021 — a 10% boost from the previous year.

The immense fee gap is a primary reason why the (CFS) Canadian Federation of Students has forced for more accessible and attainable education, as the, outrageous amount puts foreign learners at a disadvantage. International students have to fork out extra expenses for private student insurance as they do not qualify for provincial healthcare, are ineligible for financial aid from the government, and have limited working hours due to study permit restrictions.

International students have reported feeling exhausted financially, particularly since living costs have rocketed due to record-high inflation. Food insecurity is driving overgrown: local volunteers have observed an alarming surge in international students lining up at food banks due to inflationary expense hikes. Many have to resort to a penny-pinching lifestyle even after performing multiple jobs in order to stay floating.

The trade-off barely seems fair when estimated against the windfall from international students’ spending that Canadian universities reaped.

Camille Duhaime, treasurer of CFS-Ontario, was quoted saying to CBC News that there are a million reasons why we want to have international students here. And I think that for universities, all of that is almost forgotten. It’s like they’re just a number, and it’s almost as if for university or post-secondary institutions, international students are a banknotes cow before human beings, she added.