International students look to Canada for an opportunity to access one of the top ranked countries for higher education in the world. Unfortunately, Canada’s excellent reputation is being used by governments and institutions to recruit more and more international students to fill the gaps in funding with inflated and predatory tuition fees.

Unpredictable tuition fee increases for international students make it challenging to budget and contribute to student stress. This could force international students to drop out or seek education in other countries for more affordable education.

The federal and provincial governments rely on international education as a crucial export to boost their respective economies; it is clear that international students have a vast impact on the economy, but without regulation this is a highly unstable situation, which could collapse without warning.

British Columbia has been a top-level destination for international education, but significant risk exists to its current model. Regulation of international student tuition fees and a comprehensive international education strategy will better ensure stability and security in BC's international student enrolment in the years to come. It is well within BC's capacity to provide international education that is fair and supportive for students, and still generates substantial economic returns for the province as a whole.

To read more about international students in BC, check out our backgrounder.