Oh Canada!
I guess we need a plan!
The Contextual Factors Leading to the Government of
Canada’s Decision to Create its first International
Education Strategy … in 2012
Roopa Desai Trilokekar, York University &
Glen Jones, University of Toronto, Canada
Monday, April 23
Panel: Policy and Politics in North American Education
CIES , Puerto Rico 2012
“We still may not have a strategy!”
Policy is about politics
Outline of Presentation
1. Our interest in the topic
2. Internationalization and Canadian higher
education policy in Canada
3. Drivers for an international strategy
4. The Advisory panel & consultation
Process
5. Issues and concerns
6. Where to from here?
Our interest in the topic
• Roopa is a Professor, Faculty of
Education, York University specializing in
internationalization and higher education.
• Glen is the Ontario Research Chair in
Postsecondary Education Policy and
Measurement with interests in higher
education policy.
• Co-edited Canada’s Universities Go
Global (with Adrian Shubert) in 2009.
Higher Education in Canada
• Education is a provincial responsibility.
• Government of Canada has no direct role
in HE policy, but very important in research
policy, student financial assistance, culture,
immigration, foreign relations.
• Canada is the only OECD country NOT to
have a Ministry of Education.
• International Education as a policy area is
contentious as it is neither completely under
the federal (international) jurisdiction nor
provincial (education) .
Higher Education in Canada
10 provinces & 3 territories.
Provinces have quite different policies, HE
structures. Some consultation through the
Council of Ministers of Education Canada.
Provinces are extremely protective of their
jurisdictional authority over education and
there is a long history of resistance to any
Federal attempts to ‘nationalize’ or centralize
Higher education policy.
Key points
Federal role:
• Decentralized and uncoordinated
• Ambiguous-although a growing interest in foreign
student recruitment & marketing of education (from
aid to trade). A new marketing unit within DFAIT
• Very limited financial commitment
• Attempts but challenges with coordination and
communication – tug of war between feds and
provinces
• No ‘flagship’ programs
• No investment in programs or offices such as the
British, US, Australia, France models
• Repeated pleas from educational community for a
national coordinated strategy and nationally funded
flagship program
Drivers for an international
strategy
Two key DFAIT reports;
1. Economic Impact of International Education in Canada (2009) &
2. Best Practices on Managing the Delivery of Canadian Education
Marketing.
 International students bring in $6.5 million to the
Canadian economy, greater than the value of the export of
coal and coniferous lumber, the no. 1 export to China and
second largest to S. Korea. The presence of international
students provides employment for 83,000 Canadians and
more than $291 million in government revenue.
Conclusion: This is ‘big’ business/trade.
 Canada’s need to claim its “right full” share of the
international student mobility market. Canada’s share is only 4%
While Australia’s is 7% and over time we have been losing out on
this “market”; other countries “have their act together”;
international students make decisions based on country of
choice.
Conclusion: We need a national brand.
Drivers for an international
strategy
Domestic labor market & an urgent need for
immigrants
• Canada population growth is negative, even with
current immigration levels
• There are labor shortages in specific
regions/professions
• Canada needs immigrants and its policy is to
attract (highly) qualified immigrants
• Immigrants find it difficult to get foreign credentials
recognized in Canada and as a result there is a
tremendous loss of human capital
Conclusion: International students make “ideal”
future immigrants!
Drivers for an international strategy
The ‘race’ in the global knowledge economy
• The world is our stage – we need to compete with
the best. Importance of global strategic positioning.
• Competition for Global Talent- need to attract best
international researchers and provide best research
facilities
• Innovation Agenda- funding for research and
innovation, focus on knowledge mobilization.
• Preparing Canadians /graduates for a global
world, a global knowledge economy.
Conclusion: We need a competitive strategy;
funding & programs to attract and keep talent in
Canada and develop international/global
competencies in Canadians .
Higher Education in Canada
Are the stars finally in alignment?
2004/5
2006
2007
2008
2009
2011
Edu-Canada Initiative
Government launched the Off-campus work
program
Global Commerce Strategy allocated annual C $1
million to EduCanada
Government introduced Canadian Experience
Class
IMAGINE: Education in/au Canada was launched
as the official Canadian brand
Government launches post graduate work
experience program
Budget 2011: $10M announced over 2 years for
development & launch of an international
education strategy
Expert International Advisory
Panel
• The mandate of the Advisory Panel on Canada’s
International Education Strategy is to make
recommendations on a strategy that will maximise
economic opportunities for Canada in the field of
international education, including strengthening our
engagement with emerging key markets, focusing
on attracting the best/brightest international
students, encouraging Canadians to study abroad,
expanding the delivery of Canadian education
services abroad, and building, expanding and
ensuring greater partnerships between Canadian
and foreign institutions.
Panel Members:
• Advisory Panel was named on October 13, 2011
• Regional , institutional & sectoral representation
• Composition:
• Amit Chakma (Chair) President, Western U.
• Andre Bisson, Corporate Director
• Jacynthe Cote, President of Rio Tinto Alcan
• Collin Dodds, President, Saint Mary’s U.
• Lorna Smith, Director, International, Mount
Royal U.
• Don Wright, President, BCIT
Consultation Process
Three pronged approach:
1. On-line Consultation with broader community
2. Engagement through roundtables through
invitation only
3. Co-laboratory workshop with select invited
individuals
Feedback on the process:
 Simple things turn out to be VERY complex
within our Canadian context
 The file is a difficult one. There are multi
stakeholders, each with different motivations
and interests. The K-12 sector is equally crucial.
 But there is a lot of goodwill and most recognize
the benefit of working together
 Gaps in information and knowledge across key
actors
 One message that is loud and clear:
internationalization is NOT a one way street
Issues and concerns
• Canada’s federal structure:
Provinces: jurisdictional authority, established international educational
strategies, resistance to coordinated approaches, competition
• No Federal Ministry of Education:
Coordination–(piecemeal) even within the federal government
• A Common quality framework:
Maintaining standards across the board, supporting CIC with processing and
monitoring
• Maximizing resources:
Across governments, provinces, universities and other organizations and
institutions
• Internationalization
Why ? What is our destination? It is about a BROAD approach; we need to
ALSO send Canadian students abroad.
Where to from here?
• The final report is in progress. It will be submitted in June
2012.
• Advice at the highest levels- provide a vision
• KEY: Engagement & Coordination; Focus;
Setting direction
• The mandate for the panel is upto 2013 so the
government can have them pursue specific aspects of the
report further
• Will the government accept the recommendations? Will it
implement any of the recommendations?
Canada’s strategy- What will it look like? What will it
achieve? Only time will tell!?
 What is Canada’s positioning in a
global context and how will it engage
in its position taking strategy/ies?
 Will it recognize the multiplicity of
possible strategies and capitalize on
its economic, political, and cultural
capital?
 In what way will it differentiate itself
from all the other competitor
countries?
 Will it position itself on academic
rationales, content, and approaches?
 Will the strategy offer Canadian universities
opportunities to strengthen their global
positioning in qualitative terms?
Ultimately it is the interplay between
position and positioning and in the interface
between the provincial, national and
global that will seal the fate of Canada’s
politics and policy in (international)
education

Marginson, Simon . (2007, Spring). Global Position and
Position Taking: The Case of Australia. Journal of Studies
in International Education, vol. 11 (1), 5-32.
Thank You!
• Roopa Desai Trilokekar
• roopat@edu.yorku.ca
• http://edu.yorku.ca/faculty/
• Glen A. Jones:
• gjones@oise.utoronto.ca
• www.glenjones.ca