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Higher Education Trend Report: Student Mobility

Education & Skills

By: Boxi Yang

    

Key insights 

International student mobility

  • The number of incoming international students is expected to decline sharply over the next few years, with an estimated 17 per cent decrease in study permit holders from Q3 2024 to Q3 2025. A recovery is anticipated to start in 2028.
  • Ontario experienced the largest decline in post-secondary study permit holders from 2023 to 2024. Most other provinces saw more moderate decreases. Alberta stands out as an exception. Its number of post-secondary study permit holders increased by 12 per cent over the same period.

Interprovincial student mobility

  • STEM graduates are generally more likely to leave their training province than their non-STEM peers. This pattern holds almost everywhere except Alberta and Manitoba.
  • The Atlantic provinces have improved their graduate retention rates over the past decade. Yet despite these gains, Atlantic Canada still trails other provinces in holding onto their graduates.
  • Journeypersons are more mobile than university graduates. They are more likely to leave the province where they trained within just a few years of certification.
  • In some regions, trades graduates are more likely to begin their careers locally, but they quickly move on—the gap between one-year and three-year retention rates is steepest in Prince Edward Island, the territories, Alberta, and Saskatchewan.

Positioning institutions for a more mobile future

Looking ahead, PSIs will need strategies that strengthen enrolment stability and improve graduate retention as mobility patterns shift. Declining international student numbers call for broader recruitment markets and more resilient enrolment plans. Rising domestic mobility among STEM graduates and journeypersons suggests a need to align programs more closely with regional labour demand and to create clearer local career pathways. Institutions that adapt early will be better positioned to maintain talent pipelines through a period of significant demographic and policy-driven change.

Explore the full report to uncover deeper insights and the shaping the future of student finance in Canada.

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