International students drive growth among university students in Greater Montréal

By  Daye Diallo
Analyst, Economic Affairs  – Montréal International

The number of international students went up noticeably by 10.3% in Greater Montréal over the past year, from 30,000 in 2016 to over 33,000 in 2017 (see chart below).

What’s more, had it not been for the influx of international students, the total university student population would have decreased in 2016–2017.

The number of Québec students and students from other provinces went down by 0.9% last year.

By adding these international students, the student population increases by 0.8% overall.

Grow rate of international students in Greater Montréal 2016-2017

Source: Bureau de coopération interuniversitaire (BCI), fall 2017 university enrollments, Montréal International calculations. To view all BCI data (in French), click on the following link.

The strong growth in the number of international students in Greater Montréal in 2017
(10.3%) may be explained by various factors:

• Quality of Montréal as a university city. Don’t forget Montréal was named best student city in the world by the 2017 QS Best Student Cities
• Tightened immigration restrictions in the United States.
• The especially attractive and positive profile of Greater Montréal abroad in the past few months.

Through its I choose Montréal initiative, Montréal International is able to reach international students and convince a large number of them to set up in Greater Montréal once they have completed their studies.

[1] Total students in Greater Montréal is equal to the number of national students plus international students.

[2] International students are students from outside Canada. They are all enrolled full-time at university.

[3] National students comprise Québec students and students from other provinces. They include both part-time and full-time students.

Note: By adding the number of international students and the number of full-time national students, the growth in the total number of students in Greater Montréal is 1.2% (compared to 0.8%).