The Trump effect: Foreign applications to Canadian schools rise after U.S. election

Concordia University president Alan Shepard says the so-called Trump effect is real when it comes to enrolment in Canada.

Shepard said after a speech to the Montreal Council on Foreign Relations today that applications from international students for this coming fall’s semester have surged.

Other post-secondary schools in Canada such as University of Toronto have also reported significant increases in applications from international students since Donald Trump’s election as U.S. president.

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Shepard says the political turmoil in the United States has also made prominent American academics more interested in migrating to Canada.

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He says prospective students and professors are reacting negatively to what he called a regressive nationalism that has taken hold in parts of the western world.

Concordia’s president says the provincial and federal governments need to make moving to Canada easier in order to take full advantage of the increased international interest.