Over the past many years, Punjab has become a hub where youths and students migrate to Canada in search of better education, jobs, lifestyle, and even higher pay. However, Canada has witnessed a massive decline in applications from India for Canada study permits ever since New Delhi & Ottawa have come at loggerheads over Hardeep Singh Nijjar's killing & so-called interference in Western Contry's election. Apart from the diplomatic row, other domestic factors are contributing to a sharp decline in Indian Students opting to go to Trudeau-led countries and fulfill their Canadian Dream. The waning Canadian dream has started reverse migration which means Indians especially Punjabis are opting to come back to their hometown and lead a much cheaper but quality life & peaceful life. Below are a few factors that are weakening the Canadian Dream of Indians especially Punjabis-
1) Housing inflation in Canada
Among the top reasons why Canada is witnessing reverse migration is housing inflation. As per a Canadian media report, housing costs, which include mortgage interest and rent, are going to be the single biggest driver of inflation for the foreseeable future. Even the Canadia central bank acknowledged as much in its recent monetary policy report, saying "Shelter price inflation is high and is expected to put upward pressure on inflation for some time." There are a plethora of videos available on YouTube and social media websites where Punjabi students and youths can be seen addressing the issue and complaining that this was not the 'dreamy Canada' that they thought.
BBC quoted a 28-year-old man named Balkar, who returned in early 2023 after just one year in Toronto. Citizenship was his ultimate goal when he left Punjab in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. His family mortgaged their land to fund his education. But his Canadian dream faded soon. "Everything was so expensive. I had to work 50 hours every week after college, just to survive," Balkar said adding, "High inflation is making many students leave their studies."
2) Lack of Jobs in Canada
Last year, a video went viral on social media in which a people in long queue were seen struggling to get a job in a Canadian Job Fair. To be precise, hundreds of people lined up outside businesses in Ontario in efforts to land jobs. The videos, taken in Waterloo region and other cities, include ones on the social media platform Reddit, where users reported seeing lineups at a Dollar Tree in Windsor in October and a Food Basics in Hamilton in August. Many comments under the posts speculate whether there's a dire shortage of jobs.
Another video went viral on social media which showcased hundreds of youths especially from Punjab lined up in Brampton for a job fair at a local grocery store. The youths were seen forming a line outside of a Fortinos supermarket near Bovaird Drive East and Mountainash Road. Notably, Brampton is known for high high-density population of Punjabis in Canada. Such video showcased how Canada is suffering from a job shortage.
Balkar who returned to Punjab reportedly started an embroidery business from a small room on one side of the expansive central courtyard in his typical Punjabi home. "I have a good life here. Why should I face hardships there when I can live at home and make good money?" he asked as quoted by the UK media.
3) The Khalistan Threat
It is well-known that all is not well between India and Canada. While India remains unhappy over Canada's soft support to Khalistan, Justin Trudeau has leveled multiple allegations on the Modi Government. The most famous one being the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Apart from killing Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Nijjar on Canadian soil, Ottawa has accused New Delhi of interfering in its elections. However, India's MEA has rejected the absurd claims saying that it is Canada who often interferes in India's internal matters. Notably, New Delhi has already suspended and removed 41 Canadian diplomats from India.
All these factors have brought started reverse migration in Canada. Reports suggest that there was a 40% decline in applications from India for Canadian study permits in the second half of 2023. In 2022, 2.26 lakh students out of 5.5 lakh international students, or 40 per cent of the total, were from India, according to Canadian government data. And there were 3.2 lakh Indians staying in Canada on student visas.
Another report in 2023 suggests that a Canadian journalist was quoted saying, "Indian students who have recently landed in Canada are going around residential neighbourhoods in Ontario’s Kitchener, lugging their bags, pressing doorbells to know if there is any space available to be rented out."
The Indo-Canadian journalist further stated that house-hunting is just the beginning of the nightmare for Indian students.
"They end up sharing a store room in some basement of some house and pay $600-650 as rent. The entire $650 given as part of the GIC [guaranteed return by the Canadian government for $10,000 compulsory investment] goes into paying rent. How will the students pay for grocery and phone bills,” asked the journalist. Part-time jobs, which were used earlier by students to stay afloat, are few and far between these days, he further stated.