More Than Half of International Students Have no Canadian Friends

Source: Times Higher Education via Academica

According to Janine Knight-Grofe from the Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE), 56% of international students in Canada said they have no Canadian friends. “We are missing out on one of the strategic advantages of international education, one that we as international educators frequently tout,” Knight-Grofe said at last week’s annual conference of NAFSA: Association of International Educators. One-third of international students said they found it difficult to meet Canadian students and half experienced challenges meeting Canadians off campus. The issue is particularly acute for students from the Middle East and North Africa: only 28% of these students had any Canadian friends.