The video, posted by Mohammad Nishat, a postgraduate student at York University, has been viewed by nearly 1.6 million people on Instagram, showing over 100 international students queuing up outside a job fair at Tim Hortons coffee shop.

The accounting student, originally from India, told The PIE News that he has been looking for a part-time job for two months, though he has recently reduced the intensity of his search to concentrate on his studies.

“Canada, especially Toronto is an expensive place. The cost of living here is very high and since I moved to Canada from India, it has been really difficult for me to manage my expenses,” said Nishat.

Nishat explained that even with the GIC fixed interest investment he made before coming to Canada, he doesn’t have enough money to live off and doesn’t want to put additional financial burdens on his family.

The video has attracted over 900 comments, with students sharing their frustrations with the job market, including one Instagram user who said she had been searching for a job for ten months. 

However, immigration consultant Earl Blaney told The PIE that he didn’t believe finding a job in the hospitality industry had got significantly harder for international students.

“Yes, things are getting crazy expensive, there’s an extra volume of international students applying for these jobs and there might also be more Canadians applying for these jobs, but I don’t think it’s a significant material factor. 

“In those kinds of jobs – in Tim Horton’s and fast food chains –  an employer will favour a foreign national nine times out of 10 because their ability to retain that foreign national is way higher than a Canadian who would be out of there in two months,” said Blaney.

In December 2023, the government raised the cost-of-living threshold that students must meet to be approved for a study permit aimed at stopping students from realising they don’t have enough money to support themselves once they arrive in Canada.  

Currently, international students are allowed to work 20 hours per week in Canada, though the government has said that this will be increased to 24 hours per week in the autumn. 

“Working off campus helps international students gain work experience and offset some of their expenses… However, first and foremost, people coming to Canada as students must be here to study, not work. We will continue working to protect the integrity of our student program,” said immigration minister Marc Miller.  

In the UK, students are also permitted to work 20 hours per week. In Australia, they are allowed 48 hours work every fortnight.  

I think 20 hours per week is sufficient for students who want to maintain a healthy balance between work and studies

Mohammad Nishat

“I think 20 hours per week is sufficient for students who want to maintain a healthy balance between work and studies but there should be conditions where we should get a full 20 hours in a week,” said Nishat.

“A number of students who got the job often complain that they only get 10-12 hours a week to work which directly impacts their income and savings,” he added.

The labour market participation of international college students in Canada increased from 7% in 2000 to 57% in 2018, according to a 2022 report by Statistics Canada.

This trend was most pronounced in the accommodation and food services sector where international students accounted for 4.6% of workers and 2.5% of employment earnings in the industry in 2018.

For Blaney, international student demand for jobs is not only driven by financial imperatives but also by the desire to remain in Canada post-graduation.

“The main problem here, historically and now, has been finding skilled employment post-graduation which qualifies students for points towards permanent settlement in Canada.

“Identifying where that option exists and is easily attainable is something that all international students are interested in, so that puts Tim Hortons on top of the demand list because their training is such that after six months you are eligible for a supervisor position which qualifies you for permanent residency points,” Blaney explained.

In 2023, Canada recorded the fastest population growth in 67 years, with the population surpassing 40 million for the first time, which the government said was largely driven by temporary immigration.

The Canadian government subsequently introduced a cap in 2024 to limit the “unsustainable growth” of international students, who have been blamed for housing shortages.  

Despite his financial challenges, Nishat said that he hopes to remain in Canada after graduation.

“I come from a very humble family and a marginalised area of India so it’s very necessary for me to have a stable career and work experience here in Canada.

“My family, especially my elder brother, has put a lot of resources for me to be able to study at the best of places and work among the best of the people and gain the exposure which a lot of people at my place didn’t get,” he said.