Punjab’s Canada dream has turned sour, at least for the moment. The recent change in visa and work permit policies and the spiralling tensions with India have caused a dent in Canada’s reputation as a preferred destination for students and immigrants.
The common refrain is to wait and watch. But even those who had gone to Canada earlier hoping to get permanent residence (PR) status are facing a bleak future with insufficient jobs, abnormally high rents and rising inflation. There are over 1.3 lakh students whose postgraduate work permit (PGWP) will expire by December and may have to return. By next year, the number will jump to over 2.5 lakh.
“I have called my architect daughter back as there are no jobs or even an early resolution of her PR application. The rent was as high as Rs1.5 lakh per month. I asked her not to go back till some solution is in the offing. Even the law and order situation is deteriorating,” said Poornima Kapoor, who is into travel services in Delhi. “I am advising parents against sending their children [to Canada] for higher studies.”
Canada’s policies impact international students from all countries, but Indians constitute the largest group, of which students from Punjab form the biggest chunk. As Canada tightens its immigration policies, protests have erupted across the country, with one in Brampton, near Toronto, going on for two months. Bikram Singh Kullewal, who went to study in Canada in 2019, is now part of the Naujawan Support Network, which is organising protests in Brampton. “The dream which immigration agents sell in Punjab is no longer there. My work permit will expire in December. We are asking the government to give a work permit extension for two years, have fair pathways for PR and give five-year work permits to international students,” said Kullewal.
The problems in Canada exacerbated after the pandemic as universities admitted more students for online courses during the lockdown. When restrictions were eased, most of the students flew to Canada, although the infrastructure was not geared to accommodate them, driving up rents and cost of living.
The situation took a turn for the worse after the Canadian government changed its policy towards international students and immigrants owing to political compulsions. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is hugely unpopular and all opinion polls predict the return of the Conservative Party to power in the elections scheduled for next year. Trudeau, who faces a leadership challenge from his own Liberal Party, has put up barriers for immigrants and has curbed work permits.
Varun Khanna, an activist with the Montreal Youth Students Organisation (MYSO), said the future of Indian students appeared bleak. “In order to show its constituents that it is looking after their interests, the Trudeau government has kept international students in limbo. The housing crisis has added to the woes.”
While many students are thinking of returning, others are searching for ways to stay back. Those with deep pockets are looking at Labour Market Impact Assessment by shelling out as much 50,000 Canadian dollars. (A positive LMIA allows employers to hire foreign workers when they cannot fill the post with Canadian citizens.) Some are even applying for refugee status, which will take years to resolve.
The ongoing protest in Brampton has received support from Punjabi celebrities who visited the site. The images of students on the streets queuing up for free meals have shocked Punjabi communities back home. However, it seems to have helped several colleges in Punjab which were on the brink of shutting down.
“Our enrolment increased by over 25 to 30 per cent this year. We expect this to go even higher next season. In some of our courses where seats used to go vacant, we had to create extra seats to accommodate the rush. There are no vacant seats this time,” said Parveen Kumar, director of public relations at Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar.
Malvinder Singh Kang, Lok Sabha MP and spokesperson for the Aam Aadmi Party, said the crisis in Canada was helpful in stopping the brain drain from Punjab: “We are getting reports of higher enrolment across the state. It is up to Indian officials to take up the issue of our students with their Canadian counterparts. The current situation suits both the governments for their political gains.” Kang said the worsening situation in Canada was forcing many people to think seriously about making a future back home.
Some of the activists in Canada told THE WEEK that the trend of reverse migration was beginning to show. “We are organising a seminar to explore the emerging situation. Unlike the earlier generation of immigrants who came as labourers, the current generation is better skilled. They know there are opportunities in India and that they should not be reduced to factory workers,” said Mandeep, an MYSO activist. As the situation worsens, Mandeep believes the Khalistani noise is getting hyped because of Canada’s domestic politics. “Canada, too, is looking at immigrants differently. Some nationalities are preferred over others,” he said.
Next parliamentary elections in Canada will be crucial as a change in government could significantly alter the dynamics of relations with India. According to the Indian Student Mobility Report, Indian students spent $11.7 billion last year while pursuing higher education in Canada, of which $3.7 billion was spent by students from Punjab. It is not a negligible amount for a country that is going through an economic crisis.
The changing situation in Canada is likely to affect the political dynamics in Punjab as well. In 2021, the Akali Dal promised cheap loans for those who wanted to study abroad. But the party suffered a severe drubbing in the polls as Sikh voters, who formed the party’s biggest support base, were migrating in large numbers. So a reversal of the trend could alter the existing power equations, placing the Canada angle right in the middle of Punjab politics.