Madam Chair, we begin by paying tribute to the Algonquin people, the traditional guardians of the land where the University of Ottawa buildings are located. We recognize their long‑standing sacred connection to this unceded territory.
Madam Chair and members of the committee, I'm very pleased to be here today on behalf of the University of Ottawa to discuss an issue that is crucial, not only for Canadian post‑secondary institutions, but also for the communities they serve across Canada.
My remarks today will be in French and English and will focus on four areas: a view of the global student mobility landscape, a discussion on the vital importance of Africa, the University of Ottawa view and considerations for the future.
As to the global landscape for international student mobility, there is no doubt that Canada has been a tremendous success story these past years. The numbers are clear to this effect, and we wish to thank the Government of Canada for important policy decisions that contributed to this, like, for example, poststudy work rights and implementation of the student direct stream, or SDS.
Previous testimony given to this committee has also rightly referred to international student mobility as being the gold rush of this era. We cannot stress the importance of this enough. A 2019 study by Choudaha estimated that the global economic impact of international students in 2016 was roughly $300 billion U.S. It is therefore not surprising to see all the competition from countries and their higher education institutions.
Previous testimony to the committee has also alluded to the competition from many of the main destination countries that we all know: the U.K., France, the U.S. and Australia. However, the competition is also coming from non-traditional destinations, namely China, Russia, Malaysia and India. These countries also have their global ambitions, with national and international education strategies and targets. There are many contributing factors to this: financial, geopolitical positioning and soft power, research, rankings, national immigration policies and building a skilled workforce.
With respect to Africa, the data on international mobility are clear for Canadian institutions, and they demonstrate the critical importance of China and India. However, there are profound changes taking place in these regions that could affect the future mobility of international students in Canada. Therefore, Africa is a continent of growing importance. The demographics are clear on that. More than half of the world's projected population growth by 2050 will be in Africa, and the impact on the Francophonie will also be profound. According to an article by the BBC, the British Broadcasting Corporation, entitled “Why the future of French is African”, published in April 2019, the proportion of francophones in the world living in sub‑Saharan Africa could increase from 44% to 85% by 2050. That's the reality. We understand the significant competition that countries and their institutions have.
As to the University of Ottawa, in the fall of 2021, we had close to 10,000 international students. We are tremendously proud of these students, who contribute to our vibrant university community, enhance our research efforts, pedagogy and financial viability, and help preserve our unique bilingual character. A significant proportion of these students, roughly 40%, are from Africa, especially French Africa, and from various regions within French Africa, northern Africa, western Africa and central Africa. We are very proud of this and of the contributions that these students are making to ensure the sustainability of the Franco-Ontarian community that we serve. However, this has not come without significant challenges, heartache and frustrations, especially with regard to the study permit process.
Previous testimony, which we strongly support, has put into context the difficulties facing international students from certain regions, including the different regions of Africa. These include a much higher refusal rate than in other feeder markets, often lengthy processing times and subjective and inconsistent reasons for refusals, such as the dual intent test, for example.
The University of Ottawa wholeheartedly supports the work of this committee. We are committed to working with stakeholders, including IRCC and others, to identify solutions that will allow Canada to remain a premier study destination on the global stage. This will benefit all Canadian communities. There is a raft of measures that could be taken to improve this, including, to name a few, reviewing subjective assessment criteria such as dual intent to ensure that it is aligned with our immigration policy for highly qualified personnel, implementing a guaranteed turnaround time for processing applications and expanding the SDS program to more countries and to important hubs such as Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire and Cameroon, to name a few.
Thank you.