Good afternoon. Thank you very much for the opportunity to appear before you. I really appreciate this. It's really good to see members of Parliament working so hard in this virtual way. Thank you for the extraordinary work that you're all doing as you fight the pandemic.
With me today is Wendy Therrien. She is our director of public affairs.
I think most members know that Universities Canada represents all 95 universities in Canada. Taken together, Canada's universities are a $35 billion-a-year enterprise and are significant drivers of economic prosperity. They provide employment for over 300,000 people and are the talent engine for Canada.
I want to echo and applaud the remarks of the previous speaker, because colleges and universities are working together on these issues. Canada's universities are an integral part of the team Canada approach to the COVID-19 pandemic, from mitigating the risks to finding a cure and accelerating Canada's economy into recovery.
In just 10 days, universities moved about 1.4 million students online to finish the semester. Universities are conducting COVID-19 related research and donating equipment. They've repurposed dormitories to house front-line health care workers, and are converting research labs to testing facilities as they step up to serve in the national response.
We deeply appreciate that the government has recreated Canada's social safety net in just a matter of weeks, and injected record liquidity to keep the economy moving. We're particularly pleased to see the $9-billion investment in support measures announced for students earlier this month, including the Canada emergency student benefit, the changes to student financial aid and support for job opportunities and volunteer service. These measures are essential to helping young people through the pandemic, ensuring they can continue their studies in the fall and contribute over their lifetimes to building a stronger Canada.
However, for students to succeed, universities also need to be strong. Like most sectors of the economy, universities have been profoundly impacted by the pandemic. One of the biggest sources of revenue for Canadian universities and their communities is international student revenues. They contribute more to Canada's economy than the export of softwood, more than the export of wheat and more than the export of auto parts. They contribute $6 billion in tuition revenue to universities annually. For many institutions, international students contribute over 50% of tuition revenue.
With closed borders and closed visa application centres, we can anticipate significantly lower international student enrolment this fall. The loss of these revenues will directly impact all students and the ability of universities to meet the needs of Canadian students.
In addition, universities have had to wind down non-essential research and massively reduce on-campus activities, creating a difficult fiscal situation for the institutions, including job losses. We've been working with federal officials to develop a range of measures that will help support students, stabilize university operations and contribute to economic recovery. For example, we are proposing a direct federal transfer, or other mechanism, to help universities bridge their operations until borders are open and international student visa processing returns to a normal level. There's every chance that Canada will emerge stronger in international education post-pandemic, but the loss of revenues could be catastrophic. Canada needs those students to meet our labour force and immigration goals.
With the fall session set to begin in a few short months, we know that there is considerable anxiety among students and parents. Sixty per cent of students surveyed said they would prefer an online study option in September, even if health authorities deemed it safe to return to campus.
Universities need urgent federal support to undertake large-scale digital transformation to meet the needs of students. This includes the transition from in-person courses to accessible, high-quality online or hybrid courses; major upgrades to university IT infrastructure to ensure universities are able to deliver academic support, career counselling and mental health measures online; and supports to help with skilling, re-skilling and upskilling for the millions of Canadians without work who are looking now to enhance their skills.
For students to succeed, universities must be strong. Federal supports to stabilize universities will help ensure that we are able to accelerate Canada and Canadians into recovery.
Thank you again for the opportunity to appear.