‘I got a slap in the face’: Canada’s international students share stories of frustration and success

Immigrants have long come to Canada with hopes to fulfil the Canadian Dream," the promise that they will be welcomed with open arms and opportunities for a better life.

Some international students now say the dream is dying.

A global pandemic helped expose the cracks in the narrative: international students increasingly complain about the burdens of high tuition fees, social isolation, landlord harassment, and working precarious jobs where they face exploitation. And now a recession is looming.

Canada's reputation for being an immigrant-friendly country has muddled expectations regarding international students' path to permanent residence. The immigration pipeline is often thought of as guaranteed success, but international graduates face many challenges in the Canadian workforce, without knowing whether they can ultimately stay here for good.

Some are starting to question the emotional and financial price tag of the international education experience, stemming from prolonged family separation and rising costs of living.

The Star interviewed international students and recent graduates about their challenges and how their journeys can be better supported by the government, academic institutions and local communities.

I was a commodity'

After living in Canada for four years, Anna Laranjeira Carneiro decided to leave her dream of permanent residence behind.

The 24-year-old from Brazil started undergrad at a U.S. community college before transferring to the University of Toronto in 2018 to pursue a political science and international relations double major. Canada was more affordable than living south of the border.

She also planned on applying for permanent residence after two years of university, but misunderstood the rules, only finding out later she needed to complete a four-year degree here to earn enough points under Canada's selection system, which ranks applicants based on desirable attributes such as age, employment and language skills.

When the pandemic hit, she found herself stranded in Canada. Afraid of visiting family in Brazil and not being able to return due to tougher border restrictions for temporary residents, she didn't leave the country for two years.

Her family had to sell one of their properties in Sao Paulobelow market value to pay for her tuition. She also tried unsuccessfully to apply for scholarships through her university, but most are designed for domestic students, and they were often enough to pay for one credit only, she said.

I just got fed up with life in Toronto and life as an immigrant with no access to a lot of things, but a lot of responsibilities," says Laranjeira Carneiro, who decided to board a one-way flight to Brazil in late November.

Not having access to funding, always being the last to be included in decisions like policy decisions, not really having much of an agency. Every time I complain about my experience, the reaction would be along the lines of, Well, you chose to come here, you don't have to be here.' "

Comments like this made her feel unwanted in Canada, adds Laranjeira Carneiro, who would be open to coming back for employment in the future, but will not pursue permanent residence.

In the end, I realized that I was a source of funding for their failed educational system. I was a commodity."

Don't focus on permanent residence, focus on a career'

Navreen Kaur, 25, landed her ideal job as a child and family therapist in Canada.

She left India three years ago to pursue a master's in counselling and psychology at Adler University in British Columbia. Her decision to come to Canada was driven by a desire to get a temporary work permit after graduation and explore opportunities in her field.

But success didn't come easily: she completed a five-year program in two-and-a-half years because she was initially granted a two-year study permit and wanted to minimize international student fees. During her studies, she felt she didn't see much international student representation on campus and support was minimal.

After losing two family members during the pandemic, she decided to see an off-campus psychotherapist, mostly financed by her health insurance. You always felt left out, you had to work your way up," she says.

Kaur says Adler University hired an international student co-ordinator the semester before she graduated.

Now employed full time on a post-graduate work permit, Kaur would recommend studying in Canada to those whose primary goal is to pursue a high-quality international education and work experience rather than immigration. Don't focus on permanent residence, focus on a career."

Not what she expected

Before coming here in December 2021, Parul Yadav did extensive online research on the Canadian lifestyle, watching videos of international alumni on YouTube and engaging with Facebook groups. But nothing prepared her for the tough reality of finding affordable rental housing in Toronto.

The 22-year-old from India is pursuing a one-year graduate certificate in public relations at Humber College. She says she chose Canada because she liked the Humber curriculum and the possibility of immigration.

In the first five months in Canada, she shared a one-bedroom apartment with two other international students, sleeping in a doorless room with only a curtain between them. Her part of the rent was $400. Without relatives or friends to help search for accommodation, she desperately picked the place, running out of options after staying in a hotel.

There weren't many resources for housing support in school, she says, aside from a website with listings that were often outdated.

Yadav blames international alumni and recruitment agents for painting a misleading picture of Canada to incoming students.

Agents are the biggest market in India for selling these Canadian courses or these Canadian dreams. Before coming here, students actually don't know what the reality is. That's the reason that they fall into this trap."

She thinks the messaging around the promise of immigration should be more precise."

The importance of community

Jagtar Singh always wanted to be financially independent. He came to Canada in 2021 to pursue a three-year program in aerospace manufacturing engineering at Centennial College, todevelop skills in this field and explore work opportunities.

He also enjoyed the ability to make his own money here. The 21-year-old from India worked in bakeries and warehouses to help support himself through school.

In one of those jobs he got through a temp agency, he says he was subject to microaggressions" for being an international student and a temporary worker, treated as easily replaceable" in the work environment, and was paid less than his permanent counterparts.

I was being humiliated in that company."

Now a vice-president at his school's student association, he's helping promote diversity and inclusion in the school's community. He's a strong believer that local and international students can mingle with and learn from each other.

He also compliments Centennial College for providing counselling and academic advising services as well as mental health support for international students like him, including one program that helps students and staff unpack cultural differences and nuances in creating a more inclusive community.

A slap in the face'

Since Noor Azrieh was 12, her parents started discussing the idea of immigrating to another country with a stronger passport." Canada eventually became the obvious choice: tuition is cheaper than in the U.S. and it's known for welcoming immigrants of diverse cultures.

In 2018, the Lebanon native left Qatar, where she lived for 15 years, to pursue this dream after she was admitted by Carleton University for a four-year journalism and human rights program.

To her, being able to obtain permanent residence here means dignity, privilege, freedom and power."

I have one of the least powerful passports in the world," she explains, I need a visa, and I get stopped by immigration in almost every country I've ever visited."

Today, at 22, she has finished her studies and is on a post-graduate work permit, employed full-time as an associate producer of the podcasts The Backbench" and COMMONS" at CANADALAND.

Looking back at her time as a student, she says she struggled with landlord harassment and was once asked for six to nine months' rent in advance to secure an apartment unless she had a Canadian guarantor.

She also had a hard time finding employment in her field because she is not a citizen or permanent resident. The alternative was working in a coffee shop where I'd be working minimum wage."

Azrieh hopes she will earn her permanent residence in Canada, the prize of her coming to study here. She says she has invested money - $140,000 in tuition alone - time and energy in the process, and it would be inconceivable to not get anything in return."

Did I get the bang for my buck? No, I got a slap in the face. That is what I got from the Canadian immigration system."

Ana Pereira is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star's radio room in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @anabpereiraa

Nicholas Keung is a Toronto-based reporter covering immigration for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @nkeung