THUNDER BAY — International students enrolled at Thunder Bay's post-secondary institutions can start travelling to the city from their home countries as of October 20.
Under the federal government's recently-amended COVID-19 travel restrictions, students may enter Canada if they are attending a designated learning institution that has a provincially-approved pandemic safety plan in place.
Both Lakehead University and Confederation College completed their quarantine plans for international students in August, but neither institution has received formal approval yet from the Ministry of Health.
Both schools anticipate getting the okay, and officials say they look forward to seeing more students from foreign countries back in the community.
"As you can imagine, we have a lot of international students that want to come and study with us. Many are studying online, but would rather be here," said Miriam Wall, dean of international education at Confederation.
Almost 1,000 students from overseas registered with the college in September, down about 300 from last year.
Wall said many students deferred making final plans because of COVID-19 restrictions, so there are now over 400 applications for January.
"A lot of those students, I know, would be very eager to come to Canada if they can," she said, adding "This news is great news for our city as well."
Wall explained that in the last several years, in particular, "Any of us who have lived here for a long time can't help notice the change that has taken place. Between the university and ourselves, we have a large number of students that come here, and many want to stay afterwards" to pursue their careers.
She described the economic multiplier from international students living in Thunder Bay as "quite significant."
Wall said Confederation's COVID-19 readiness plan is designed to ensure the entire city, not just the college community, is safe.
"For example, every student in quarantine must have a negative COVID test before they can come on campus. In addition to the regular checking that takes place, I have staff in my office that regularly check with students, make sure they're doing okay."
According to Wall, the college's COVID plan includes requirements that are "above and beyond" the federal government guidelines.
At Lakehead University, Vice-Provost James Aldridge noted that October 20 falls in the middle of the semester, and is not the most likely time students would elect to return to Canada.
"If they're a current student studying online from their own country, it would mean having to make the travel arrangements and things in the middle of an online semester to have to come here and continue to study online. Time will tell...but it makes sense to me that a lot of students would make their travel plans later in the semester," Aldridge said.
He's unsure how many international students will take advantage of the chance to return to Thunder Bay,
"Lots will continue to study in their home countries, but there will be that group who want to be here, close to campus and in a pretty safe environment here."
Lakehead had nearly 1,900 students from over 75 countries registered last year, however this year's enrollment figures aren't available yet.
Aldridge said the university administration is excited by the prospect of new arrivals, and has prepared for them.
"We want to make surse that the safety of the community and everybody involved is at the forefront of our planning. All the protocols and procedures that we prepared in the summer are being re-looked at, and we'll make sure that when arrivals do happen, it will be done in a safe way."
The readiness plan, Aldridge said, begins with a focus on communications.
"A good communications plan is to let them know what they need to get through the border checks, to arrive safely, and to enter their required quarantine safely. The next part is the quarantine plan, which is in place whether the student is living off-campus or in residence. And then the testing protocols as well."
Aldridge agreed that reopening the border to international students is good not just for the students and Lakehead, but for Thunder Bay as a whole.
"Of course, they rent apartments or live in residence, and pay for transportation and food, and what not. The economic impact is important, and hopefully we'll see a bit of a bump because of that when they come back," Aldridge said.
Wall added that she appreciates how the people of Thunder Bay respond to international students, whether meeting them in stores where many students choose to work, or elsewhere in the community.
"We've heard stories from people like bus drivers to those who have met students in their churches or elsewhere that have been exceptionally friendly to them. And that is one of the things the students mention a lot. They are far away from home, and friendship goes a long way," she said.
