Justin Trudeau Resigns: How Indian students in Canada struggled to study, work during his term

NEW DELHI: After serving more than nine years in Canada, Justin Trudeau resigned from his post as the 23rd Prime Minister. During his term, it has been a battle ground for Indian students to pursue their higher education in the Land of the Maple Leaf. As Justin Trudeau’s resignation made the headlines, let’s recall how India-Canada relations went down a roller coaster ride during his leadership.

India Canada at war

India and Canada have been in a diplomatic tussle for a while now over the killing of a Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, for which the latter finds India guilty. The continuously deteriorating India-Canada relations have severely impacted education and job opportunities for Indians. Over a year, Canada has taken numerous calculated decisions to slash the number of international students and immigrants, despite India being the largest source country of foreign students with around 4,27,000 Indian students studying in Canada.

Here’re the major changes introduced by the Canadian government under Trudeau that made it a bumpy road for the international students.

End of Student Direct Stream Visa scheme

In November last year, Canada ended the Student Direct Stream (SDS) visa scheme with immediate effect, a decision that is going to put Indian students in a dilemma. Notably, the visa policy allowed high-speed processing of student visa applications, within 20 business days. Now, it may take up to eight weeks. Trudeau had announced a 35% cut in international student permits.

Also read ‘I’ve seen students delivering food’: Expert on Canada’s study visa policies and why demand may drop 50%

New rules for PG work permit

Starting from November 2024, for a post-graduate work permit, candidates who have not graduated from universities must obtain degrees in programmes within five broad fields of study – Agriculture and agri-food, Healthcare, Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), Skilled trades, and Transportation.

The Justin Trudeau government had already announced new language requirements to be eligible for work permits, amid feud with India.

Also read Study Abroad: US, Germany more popular among foreign students; Canada, UK lose appeal, shows IDP survey

Cap on international students

The Canadian government capped the number of study permits for international students and fixed the number of undergraduate and postgraduate international students who will be admitted in the country’s universities at around 2,92,000.

Cost-of-living doubled

Starting from January last year, Canada doubled the cost-of-living financial requirements for study permit. Following this, the international students will have to show that they possess 20,635 dollars in addition to the tuition fee and travel expenses. The move will put an additional financial burden on parents sending their children to study in Canada, said students’ guardians in Punjab.

Off-campus work limit

While the government recently did raise the off-campus work limit for international students to 24 hours a week, Trudeau had cancelled the temporary policy allowing students to work more than 20 hours.

Pause on visa, consular services

Canada briefly suspended consular services in three Indian cities including Chandigarh, Bengaluru, and Mumbai and withdrew 41 diplomats from India after they were allegedly threatened to have their diplomatic immunity stripped.