“Open campuses, joint degrees”: Canada envoy signals India push

“Canada’s high commissioner to India, Christopher Cooter, has said Canadian universities and colleges are preparing for a stronger presence in India through branch campuses, joint degrees and talent mobility partnerships, as the two countries continue efforts to reset relations after a prolonged diplomatic strain. Speaking to CNN-News18, Cooter said Canadian institutions were now “committed to India”, with education and talent mobility emerging as key pillars of broader India-Canada ties. “We already host a large number of Indian students, and we love them, and we’d like to have more of them, but all of our colleges and universities are now committed to India,” stated Cooter. “That could be open campuses, joint degrees, it could mean faculty coming here, students coming here from Canada. The presence of Canadian educational institutions, which we think is the best in the world, is now coming more directly to India, which will be more viable for a lot of students, less expensive, easier to access.” The presence of Canadian educational institutions, which we think is the best in the world, is now coming more directly to India, which will be more viable for a lot of students, less expensive, easier to access Christopher Cooter, Canadian High Commission The remarks build on Canada’s recent push towards transnational education, research collaboration and offshore engagement in India, following the launch earlier this year of a joint Canada-India “talent and innovation strategy ” involving more than 20 Canadian institutions. The strategy included agreements around hybrid campuses, AI centres of excellence, scholarships, research partnerships and academic mobility, and followed a delegation visit by Canadian universities to India led by Universities Canada. At the time, Canadian university leaders told The PIE News they were exploring stronger on-the-ground engagement in India through branch campuses, pathway programs, student exchanges and research collaboration, as institutions adapt to mounting pressures across Canada’s international education sector. The developments come amid a sharp decline in Indian student mobility to Canada over the past two years. Recent IRCC data showed Canada issued approximately 73,800 new study permits in 2025 – a 64% year-on-year drop and the country’s lowest intake in a decade, while approval rates for Indian applicants fell sharply from 69% in 2024 to around 25-27% in 2025. The downturn follows tighter visa rules, rising living costs, housing pressures and growing uncertainty around post-study opportunities, alongside diplomatic tensions that disrupted India-Canada relations after both countries expelled diplomats in 2023. Despite the decline, Cooter described Indian students as the “biggest part” of economic engagement between the two countries. “Well, it’s a strange thing in our relationship that, in spite of the complementarity of the two economies, we don’t actually do that much trade. The biggest part of it, in fact, is students going to Canada. 400,000 of them are hosted in Canada, more than the United States, Europe, and the UK combined,” he said. Cooter also suggested the two countries were now looking beyond simply restoring ties towards a broader long-term economic partnership. “We hope to get the trade agreement concluded this year. We want to make a lot of progress on the two prime ministers’ goal of doubling trade by 2030. We don’t want to wait till 2030. We’d like to double it before, but we’ll make good progress,” he added. The post “Open campuses, joint degrees”: Canada envoy signals India push appeared first on The PIE News .

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