Financial stress taking a toll on international students, advocates say
When Gobindbir Singh describes the stress international students are under, he remembers a young man who called in tears.
Unable to pay his tuition for the upcoming semester, the student said his parents were selling their home in India and it still wasn’t enough.
He had asked friends to lend him money and tried getting an extension from the college.
Completely desperate, he turned to Khalsa Aid Canada.
“He literally cried over the phone,” said Singh, a project manager for the organization in Ottawa, which supports international students by providing free groceries once a month and winter coats.
“He said, ‘I have tried everything, and you are the last resort.'”
The story is one example of the difficult situations international students are finding themselves in as the cost of living skyrockets in Canada and it becomes more difficult for newcomers to find work.
These challenges have become more noticeable as the number of international students in the country has jumped in recent years.
In 2023, more than 900,000 foreign students had visas to study in Canada — more than triple the number from 10 years ago.
Post-secondary institutions and policymakers are facing significant scrutiny over the increase as colleges and universities increasingly use international student tuition to supplement inadequate government funding.
Meanwhile, more stories are surfacing of international students living in substandard housing and relying on food banks.
Singh, a former international student himself, said stress around finding work, paying for high tuition and adjusting to life in Canada can take a toll on a student’s mental health. Often, the students don’t know where to seek help.
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