What will be the impact of Canada’s new immigration policy on Indian students? These problems already existed

40 percent of the foreign students living in Canada are from India. Trudeau’s new immigration policy has come as a big shock to the youth who dream of settling in Canada on a student visa. This is the reason that due to the change in policy, more than 70,000 foreign students are facing the threat of returning to their country. Protests have also started there. Let us know why so many Indian students go to Canada. Apart from this, what effect will Trudeau’s new policy have on the Indian students living there.

It is worth noting that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrote in a post on the social media platform X, “We are reducing the number of low-paid, temporary foreign workers in Canada. The labour market has changed. Now is the time for our businesses to invest in Canadian workers and youth.” After his announcement, protests started among Indian workers and students living in Canada. It is worth noting that if we talk about the year 2023, there are already 900,000 international students in Canada, now by the end of this year 2024, there was a possibility of 500,000 more permanent residents.

Students feel cheated

The Canadian government has been saying that one of the main reasons for bringing immigrants here is to promote economic development and flexibility. Now after the change in policy, Indian students are feeling cheated. Mehakdeep Singh, a former international student who is facing immigration, told City News Toronto, “I took risks for six years to come to Canada. I studied, worked, paid off loans, and completed the required points in the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), but the government has taken advantage of us.”

There is already a housing problem

Let us tell you that students in Canada are already facing housing problem. In September last year, an Instagram post about the housing problem created a lot of ruckus. It is being told that the construction of houses here is very low and record-high interest rates have put new housing units out of the reach of common Canadians and new immigrants. If we talk about jobs, then there has been a crisis of part-time jobs in Canada for a long time. Foreign students here are already living in very bad conditions due to lack of housing. Now after the new policy, the dream of education in Canada is going to prove to be a distant dream for Indians.

Questions have also been raised on security

Recently, the news of the shooting of Indian student Chirag Antil and the attack on many Indian students also broke the morale of Indian students. The Foreign Minister had also demanded a fair investigation and action in the case of Chirag Antil. Now with the new policy, the intention of the Trudeau government is clearly visible that it will be difficult for Indian students to study, get a job or citizenship here.

Why do so many students go to Canada every year?
The reason for going to Canada is not just education. This is because student visa is an easy way to go to Canada, and after this the path to permanent residence and citizenship also opens up. Foreign citizens can easily enter Canada through student visa. Indians form a large number of foreign students in Canada. A kind of mini India has been settling in Canada.

40 percent of international students are from India
According to the data of the Canadian government, out of the total 5.5 lakh international students in the year 2022, 2.26 lakh students were from India. This is 40 percent of the total students. Earlier, 3.2 lakh Indian students were living in Canada on visa. A large number of these students are living in motels or basements. Gaurav Bhatt, a journalist of The Canadian Press, told IndiaToday.In that the flood of people coming to Canada is making the matter worse.

Now that the Trudeau government is reducing the number of low-paid temporary foreign workers, it is clear that the changing labour market there is going to increase difficulties for Indian students. However, Canada’s “food security sectors” such as agriculture and food and fish processing, as well as construction and healthcare will still be exempted. There is still a huge shortage of workers in these sectors. But how easy it will be to study while working in these sectors is a matter of thought.