Ontario College audit report

Office of the auditor general:

It has been due to a significant reliance on international student enrollment to subsidize the provincial costs of domestic students’ education and colleges’ administrative and capital expenditures. Direct provincial funding per full-time-equivalent domestic public college student in Ontario for 2018/19 was the lowest in Canada.
Between 2012/13 and 2020/21, public colleges experienced a 15% decline in domestic student enrol- ments but a 342% growth in international student enrolments, with 62% (2020/21) of international students coming from India. The decrease in domes- tic students has mainly been due to a change in the demographics of Ontario’s population, and high- school graduates pursuing university over college education. About 30% (104,937) of all (348,350) stu- dents enrolled in public colleges in Ontario in the fall of 2020 were international students.

The increase in international students was influ- enced by prospective students viewing Canada as
an attractive destination to study in and enrolling in Canadian post-secondary institutions as a pathway for immigration. International students in the public college sector contribute to local economies through spending, increase the diversity of colleges and local communities, and can help regions meet future labour demands where the local demographics are unable to meet employer needs