Canada is a North American country stretching from the U.S. in the south to the Arctic Circle in the north. Its capital is Ottawa, and its largest metropolitan areas are Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Canada’s vast swaths of wilderness include lake-filled Banff National Park in the Rocky Mountains. It’s also home to Niagara Falls, a famous group of massive waterfalls. Canada has a total area of 9.9 million sq. km. and touches the Pacific, Arctic, and Atlantic oceans.

Canada is the first country in the world to adopt a policy of multiculturalism, embracing diversity and pluralism. Today, of Canada’s total population of more than 35 million, a fifth are immigrants. In fact, Canada is home to people from over 200 ethnic origins. Around 4.3 per cent of the total Canadian population reported an Aboriginal identity and 19.1 per cent belong to a visible minority. The largest groups among these visible minorities are South Asians, Chinese and Africans, followed by Filipinos, Latin Americans, Arabs, Southeast Asians, West Asians, Koreans and Japanese.

Most people live in southern Ontario and Quebec, southwest British Columbia and Alberta. Much of the north has a very low population because of the cold climate.

Toronto has the highest cost of living in Canada, followed by Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal, and Ottawa respectively.

It’s likely that the university you choose for your international studies will have a large community of students both from the local area and all around the globe. If you take full advantage of this opportunity, you could graduate having established lasting friendships with people based in many different countries – great for future trips, and also a good basis for an international professional network. As Dalferes says, “Spending time studying abroad can provide an excellent opportunity to make new contacts and build invaluable relationships with peers from around the world."

Being part of an internationally diverse academic community can also enhance the quality of your learning, providing a wider spectrum of opinions and expertise.

A total of 26 universities in Canada feature in the QS World University Rankings® 2018, of which four are in the world’s top 100, with nine more making the world’s top 300 – a feat matched only by a handful of other nations.

The two highest Canadian entries are the University of Toronto (31st) and McGill University (32nd), located in Toronto and Montréal respectively. Also ranked within the global top 220 are the University of British Columbia, the University of Alberta, Université de Montréal, McMaster University, the University of Waterloo, Western University and the University of Calgary.

International recognition of Canadian university degrees is something you can count on for your future, since universities in Canada are known around the world for their high-quality teaching and research.

There are over 90 universities in Canada, of which 17 are private. As is common elsewhere, Canadian universities offer three levels of degree: bachelor’s (usually lasting four years), master’s (requiring an additional year or two) and doctorate (usually an additional three years).

Canada also has around 150 colleges – also known as community colleges, technical colleges, regional colleges or CÉGEPs (in Québec) – which offer short courses and diplomas. In addition, the country has a long history of specialized career colleges, which seek to prepare students for specific vocations.

Canada holds high international reputation for educational standards and boasts of a wide range of quality educational institutions for both degrees and diplomas in technical and professional disciplines.

Maclean’s Magazine has released its 2017 rankings of Canadian universities across eight popular study areas: Engineering, Biology, Computer Science, education, environmental science, medicine, mathematics, nursing and psychology.

According to The 2016 edition of A World of Learning Canada’s Performance and Potential in International Education reports that there were 353,570 international students in Canada in 2015. This represents year-over-year growth of 8%, and echoes the recent-year trend reported in the US of slowing growth for the year.

The top three source countries of International students are China (33.7%), India (13.7%) and France (5.7%) and together accounted for 53.1% of the total of the international students.

The following countries are source of more than or equal to one percent of international students to Canada: South Korea (5.6%), the United States of America (3.4%), Saudi Arabia (3.3%), Nigeria (2.8%), Brazil (2.1%), Japan (2.0%), Mexico (1.4%), Vietnam (1.4%), Iran (1.3%), Pakistan (1.1%) and Hong Kong (1.0%).

Christianity is the largest religion in Canada, with the Catholic Church having the most adherents. Christians, representing 67.3% of the population, are followed by people having no religion with 23.9% of the total population. Islam is the second largest religion in Canada, practised by 3.2% of the population.

There are two official languages – English and French – and Montreal in Quebec is the world’s largest French-speaking city outside of France. All of the services offered by the Federal Government are in English and French. Almost every product has English and French on the labels and most public services are available in both languages. Outside of Quebec the majority of people speak English; about 18 percent of Canadians are fluently bilingual.

Full time students registered in a degree or diploma-granting course are allowed to work on the campus of the institution without any permission for an employment authorization.

Canada offers job opportunities for international students who are graduated from Canadian universities and obtain their degrees. After graduation, an international student can work up to 3 years in Canada.

The Canadian government has introduced legislation to reduce the period of physical residency required to apply for Canadian citizenship. The new legislation will also restore a provision that allows international students to count time spent studying or working in Canada against that residency requirement. The government has also committed to a review of the Canadian Experience Class programme, a key path to permanent residency for international students in Canada.

You can process your P.R application after 2 years and can get it.  Once you become permanent Resident you are entitled to get other benefits.

Links:

Online student visa application

Documents required

Study permits

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Fee:  CAD $125

Interview required:  Yes

Time frame for visa acceptance: 10-12 weeks