Why Choose Canada As A Study Destination?

Since 2004, the United Nations has regularly ranked Canada in the top 10 countries in the world in its Quality-of-Life Index. Combining excellent educational institutions, an innovative economy, a tolerant and safe culture, and extraordinary beauty, Canada is an ideal destination for international students. In addition, praised for their overall stability, multiculturalism, clean environments, and world-class healthcare, and education systems, Calgary, Vancouver, and Toronto are ranked fourth, sixth, and seventh, respectively, in the 2018 Economist Intelligence Unit ranking of the world’s most livable cities.

Canada is also ranked #1 by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for higher education achievement—more than half of its citizens between the ages of 25 and 64 have a post-secondary education. The Times 2018–2019 World University Rankings placed nine Canadian universities in the top 200 (and four of these are in the top 100). Also, Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s 2018 Academic Ranking of World Universities placed four Canadian institutions in its top 100, and 18 in the top 500.

Canada’s secondary school students excel in science, reading, and mathematics. In the 2015 PISA results testing Grade 10 students from 65 countries around the globe, Canada ranked 9th on the reading scale, 7th in science, and 10th in maths ahead of the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand, and France. High-quality French and English language teaching are also reasons students choose Canada

Canada is officially bilingual (English and French), and across the country, more than 200 languages are spoken. The biggest cities, Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal, are home to many immigrant communities, and one finds all sorts of ethnicities across the country. A tolerant culture is among the top Canadian values—informally, on the streets and public venues, and formally, in Canada’s laws and government. Of note is the Charter of Rights and Freedoms which enshrines equality for all.

Canada’s educational institutions have long been incubators for innovation. The BlackBerry, flat-screen technology, SMART boards, voice compression applications for cell phones and computers, and IMAX film are among the many revolutionary technologies invented and developed by men and women who studied in Canada.

Among these are the environmentalist David Suzuki; the famous architect Frank Gehry (Bilbao Guggenheim Museum, Walt Disney Concert Hall, etc.); the economist John Kenneth Galbraith (who served in the administrations of US presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy, and Lyndon B. Johnson); the cinematographer James Cameron (Titanic, Avatar); the author Margaret Atwood; musicians Justin Bieber, Sarah McLachlan, and Shawn Mendes; and actors Rachel McAdams, Jim Carrey, Kiefer Sutherland, and Ryan Gosling.

Canada has one of the world’s most stable economies. Canada also boasts one of the fastest economic growth rates among the G8 countries, and the International Monetary Fund predicts this trend to continue. The OECD has recently predicted that Canada will lead G-7 growth in the next 50 years. Moreover, Canada ranks:

Many of Canada’s educational institutions are engaged in international research partnerships to address major issues facing our world today. Canadian institutions recognize that Canadian research receives a crucial boost in terms of reputation and impact when quality international partners contribute. Many of the world’s most pressing problems are international in scope, and Universities Canada notes:

“Canada’s universities are known for conducting world-class research. Globally, we punch well above our weight in the output: we rank sixth in terms of average citation levels across all fields among the top scientific countries and produce four percent of the world’s scientific papers despite representing only one percent of the world’s population. Canada’s universities are key economic drivers of regional and national prosperity, and a powerhouse of research and development activities, performing 40 percent of the nation’s total R&D, valued at $13 billion each year. University researchers collaborate on more than $1 billion worth of research with community and non-profit community groups every year and conduct almost $1 billion worth of research in collaboration with the private sector annually, providing the “intellectual raw material that drives innovation and builds prosperity.”