Internationalization in the Canadian colleges sector

• In Event: Impact on internationalization for the public good in community colleges and polytechnics

Proposal

Introduction
The panelist explores the evolving nature of internationalization in the Canadian community college sector by situating current challenges within a broader historical and policy context. The focus is that where we are today requires a look at how we got here. The Canadian community colleges have gone through three distinct but interconnected phases in the development of the Canadian college/polytechnic system.

Conceptual Frameworks
The research is guided by the theories of academic drift (Raby & Valeau, 2022, Steiner-Khamsi, 2016). Academic drift is an outcome of educational borrowing in which adoption and re-invention of the Colleges Sector is aided by colonialization, transnational NGOs, technological changes, and student/scholar mobility.

Literature Review
Canadian Colleges have been studied internationally since the 1960s and today, research examines accessibility, non-traditional student populations, international students and support services (Barone & Unangst, 2023; Legusov et al., 2022). Research also focuses on sector development, similarities between institutional types, and academic drift (Li & Pilz, 2021; Raby & Valeau, 2023). Academic drift changes institutional practices as well as structure.

Methodology
The researcher uses three sources of data to support this work. Historiography is used to bring the past into the current day to assess contexts of development. Critical reflection and discourse analysis of policies to reflect on uniquely Canadian academic drift of the Colleges sector.

Findings
Three historic periods show change in Canadian Colleges/Polytechnic internationalization. 1) Serving Local Communities (1960s-1990s): Community colleges were publicly funded institutions designed to provide vocational and technical education tailored to local and regional labor market needs. At this time, internationalization was virtually non-existent and there was stable government funding. 2) International Student Growth (1990s-2025): responding to a combination of declining public funding, a rise in global student mobility, and demographic challenges within Canada. Community colleges turned to international student recruitment as a vital source of revenue. In turn, academic drift transformed community colleges to Colleges keeping in place a locally focused institution. Colleges were key players in Canada's international education and immigration and permanent residency strategies. 3) The Post-International Period (2025 -): This is an uncertain phase marked by a sharp decline in international student numbers due to federal policy changes, growing global competition, and rising costs. The over-reliance on international tuition has exposed systemic vulnerabilities, prompting institutions to adopt immediate damage control measures: campus closures, program cuts, outsourcing services, and workforce reductions.

Conclusion
Over the decades, Canadian community colleges, with their applied focus and technical mandate, are uniquely positioned to adapt quickly to any societal conflict and reframe internationalization policies to not merely focus on recruitment, but to be part of a broader strategy of global engagement, labor market integration, and learner-centered innovation. Globalization presents opportunities to experiment with new models, including partnerships with industry to co-develop curriculum and expand work-integrated learning, hybrid and online delivery models, integration of AI into academic advising, shift toward agility and responsiveness, using data to inform institutional strategy, and collaboration with private and international providers through innovation and specialization.

Author

• Oleg Legusov, Seneca Polytechnic