Canada’s international student boom changed Brampton forever. As the program scales back dramatically, a strained community tries to adapt
Several times a week, Sukhman Kaur takes two buses from her basement apartment in Brampton through Mississauga to get to Toronto, where she attends George Brown College.
The 22-year-old, who is studying culinary management, says when she moved to Canada from India in December 2023 as an international student, she already knew that despite studying in Toronto, she would likely end up living in Brampton.
“The main reason I live here is because rent is lower than Toronto, but also lots of our community members live here, too,” said Kaur, speaking from the site in Brampton where former international students were protesting federal policy changes that have left them at risk of deportation. After several months, the protest ended last week. “There are also lots of industrial areas, and more part-time jobs for us who need to work to manage our expenses.”
This says stay away from Canada’s urban centres.
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