Despite the pandemic, in 2020, Canada issued 257,360 Study Permits for international students. 53% if the international students were males and 47% females. 196,000 study permits were issued to students to study at a Post Secondary program, while 45,260 study permits were received to study in the Secondary school programs. Most of the international students were in Ontario – 120,190 study permits; British Columbia was the second most popular education destination – 59,275 permits; another 42,090 students started to study in Quebec; 12,900 international students were allowed to begin their programs in Alberta. All other provinces and territories combined attracted 23,705 international students in 2020. Overall, the COVID-19 reduced the number of new Study Permits from 401,335 in 2019 to 257,360 in 2020. Nevertheless, in January 2021, IRCC already issued 27,960 new study permits, which gives hope for a quick recovery of the number of international students coming to Canada.
IRCC issued 257,360 Study Permits in 2020
