Strained Pathways: India–Canada Geopolitical Tensions and the Disruption of Indian Student Mobility (2023–2025)

Abstract

International student mobility is a central feature of modern diplomatic and economic relations between states. In the case of Canada–India relations, Indian students are by far the largest category of students in Canada’s international student population and are an important source of revenue for institutions and of labor supply for the market. This said, this type of transnational exchange is extremely susceptible to geopolitical shocks. The study examines the crisis in Canada-India relations, 2023-2025, through the prism of Indian student mobility to Canada-a domain that had hitherto received limited scholarly attention despite its high value in economic and strategic terms. Drawing on qualitative content analysis of government statements, media coverage, and policy assessments, the study identifies diplomatic expulsions, visa disruptions, and political uncertainty as significantly undermining pathways into student mobility. These disruptions have prompted enrolment deferrals, institutional strain, and growing uncertainty among prospective students around safety, reception, and post-graduation opportunities. Results show that international education operates not only as a form of social exchange but also as a politically contingent sector susceptible to diplomatic conflict. This paper argues that prolonged geopolitical tension threatens to structurally reshape the destination preferences of Indian students, with long-term consequences for Canada’s higher education system and its global competitiveness.