Indian students in Canadian province protest against changing immigration policies

Amid the immigration curbing policies implemented by the Canadian government, reportedly Indian students are being deported to India. The Indian students are protesting in the Canadian province against this and the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has no information regarding the issue.

Image source: CBC

As per reports, a group of international students are protesting in the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island (PEI) against the migration policy shift. The majority of the protesting students are from India and they are reportedly being deported to India after the policy change.

India's Ministry of External Affairs has no reports or updates on the deportation of Indian students from Canada. 

While briefing the media, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, "A large number of students have gone to Canada to study. The figure is pretty significant. But we haven't come across several students facing deportation... We do not have any updates on that. We are not aware. There may be one case here or one case there. But we don't see any major problem as far as students in Canada are concerned," as reported by India Today.

The Background

Recently, Canada has seen an unprecedented surge in immigration especially in Prince Edward Island (PEI). The island has seen more immigration than its Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) could support. PNP is reportedly a lifeline for many international students including Indian students who aim to secure permanent residency (PR) in Canada.

As per the Economic Times report, the provincial government has decided to prioritize PR for individuals working in essential sectors such as construction, early childhood education and healthcare.

"Canada's smallest province, Prince Edward Island, has become the first to push back against mass immigration. The Indian community in PEI is not taking it very well, threatening ''hunger strikes to the death," reads one of the messages on X.

Canada's protesting students demand

The main demands of the protesting students include the following:

The protesting students are demanding the same opportunities as other sectors saying that the point system that requires 65 points is nearly impossible for those under 25 to achieve.

The government recently announced setting up a work limit of 24 hours a week for international students. The demonstrating students want an extension of their work permits.

Students seek grandfathering into the PNP system which means those who were already in Canada on valid work permits before the policy change should be allowed to continue in the old system.

Against the backdrop of the increasing immigration in Canada and Australia, recently the respective governments have made policy changes which are going to directly impact the international study abroad aspirants looking to study in these countries.

Read more:

• Canada to impose cap on study permit applications for international students
• Canada sets work limit of 24 hours a week for Indian students