New data provides early signals that Canada’s popularity as a study destination is on the rise

“Demand for study in Canada may be on the rebound, according to search data from two major international student recruitment companies, Keystone Education Group and IDP. This recent trend contrasts with plummeting student interest in 2024 and 2025 linked to frequent policy changes by Canadian government. Those policies were introduced to limit the number of new international students coming into the country after years of double-digit growth. The policies overshot their target. Far fewer students have come to Canada since 2024 than predicted. The confusing rollout of each new rule reduced international students’ confidence in the benefits of studying at Canadian institutions – especially colleges, which have been more severely affected than universities by the government’s approach to improving the integrity of the system. But a policy reversal in November 2025 appears to have sparked (1) new interest in Canada, and (2) improved Canadian institutions’ potential to recruit international students in the current immigration context. Dramatic increase in search interest Keystone Education Group says that in December 2025, there was a +55% year-over-year increase in international student searches for Canada on its platform – a major change after two years of decline. The turning point for the rebound was the government’s 6 November 2025 announcement that master’s and doctoral-level students would be removed from the cap on new international enrolments as of 2026. Incoming postgraduate students no longer need a Provincial Attestation Letter (PAL) to be eligible for study in Canada, and they are now permitted to bring their families with them. Canadian immigration (IRCC) processes those students and families’ applications together, eliminating any uncertainty about whether partners/dependent children will have to wait longer than students for a visa decision. Keystone’s data also shows a major reversal of master’s-level interest around the time of the policy announcement. In October 2025, searches for this level were down by -6% compared with October 2024. Then in November, they grew by +28%. Following that, there were sustained, monthly increases: +55% in December 2025 +50% in January 2026 +21% in February 2026 +45% in March 2026 Keystone says this pattern suggests “a structural shift in student interest, not a momentary spike.” Mark Bennett, VP of Research and Insight at Keystone, says: “Prospective students react clearly and often very consistently to policy changes, and our search data is a great way of tracking that. What’s important here is that it’s the relative calm and clarity that seems to be having a positive effect on Canadian interest. Audiences who may have been struggling to understand Canada’s position on international education are responding to a clearer signal here.” More evidence of an upturn Findings from IDP’s most recent Emerging Futures survey, EF9, also show that Canada is regaining some popularity. As the following chart illustrates, Australia (+10%), Canada (+7%), and “other” destinations (+9%) gained significant traction this year as destinations students are considering. This is in contrast to lower interest for the UK (-3%) and especially the US (-9%). The comparison is the data from EF9 (conducted in March and April 2026) versus data from EF7 (February 2025). Ups and downs in destination popularity. Source: IDP’s EF9 Will Canada’s momentum continue? International students’ growing interest in Canada this year is a result of several external and internal factors: External Significantly lower interest in the US given policy uncertainty under the second Trump administration More cautious recruitment on the part of UK universities given strict new compliance thresholds (including a requirement that institutions maintain a visa refusal rate of less than 5% to avoid sanctions) Internal The postgraduate exemption from the cap The ability of postgraduates to bring their families – and for postgraduate prospects to see their families’ visa applications processed at the same time as their own Greater policy stability, which leads to: (i) More confidence among international prospects; and (ii) Better ability of institutions and agents to advise prospective and current students given less confusion and volatility More clarity on which programmes are eligible for the Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) Improving visa approval rates for university programmes, for example: (i) The proportion of undergraduate university study permit approvals reached 35% in 2025 versus 22% in 2024 and 20% in 2022 (IRCC data); and (ii) The proportion of postgraduate university study permit approvals reached 30% in 2025 versus 18.5% in 2024 and 14% in 2022 (IRCC data) And last but not least – more targeted recruitment strategies by Canadian institutions (more on this below). The question of whether or not Canada can regain its footing as a preferred leading destination depends especially on the internal factors above – especially policy stability. More policy stability enables effective recruitment Policy stability has a major positive impact not just on international students, but on the colleges and universities recruiting those students. For example: In the summer of 2025, the Canadian government revised its list of PGWP-eligible fields, which might have been simply one more change for institutions to adjust to. However, in January 2026, it announced that the list would be “frozen” for all of 2026. This means that the existing list of 1,107 PGWP-eligible programmes is valid for the entire year. In turn, this allowed colleges to confidently market their PGWP-eligible programmes overseas, knowing that they won’t suddenly have to inform students that a previously eligible programme has been pulled from the approved list. This kind of stability allows institutions to create webpages and communications strategies targeted to international students who are motivated by the PGWP or interested in a particular field of study that just happens to be PGWP-eligible – or both. Precise targeting allows institutions to mirror different segments’ specific needs and intent (e.g., South Asian students strongly motivated by the PGWP) in their messaging across all channels, which in turn can greatly improve the likelihood of attracting best-fit students to priority programmes. For additional background, please see: “ New international student permit approvals for Canada fell below COVID levels in 2025 “ “ Canada: Government audit finds impact of international student cap far greater than expected “ “ Canada’s foreign enrolment has fallen by nearly 300,000 students over the last two years “ “ Canada announces international student cap numbers for 2026 and updated programme guidance “ The post New data provides early signals that Canada’s popularity as a study destination is on the rise appeared first on ICEF Monitor - Market intelligence for international student recruitment .

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