The funding will go toward attracting students from Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Morocco, Turkey, France and Ukraine to universities primarily outside of Canada’s major cities. It’s part of a $148-million five-year international education plan, which includes $95 million to encourage Canadians to study abroad in regions other than the U.S., the U.K. and Australia, such as in Asia and Latin America. (Globe and Mail)

Talking point: More than half of foreign university students in Canada come from just two countries: China and India. The focus on countries with growing middle classes could help Canada ensure it has relationships with them as their economies and influence on the world stage become more prominent. Diversifying the student pool also helps protect a large industry in Canada—international students contributed $21 billion to Canada’s economy in 2018, more than each of the autoparts, lumber and aircraft sectors. But counting on just a few countries for that income can be risky. Saudi Arabia pulled hundreds of its citizens from Canadian universities in August 2018 amid a diplomatic dispute between the two countries after Canada’s foreign affairs department criticized the country for its arrests of social activists. The country also expelled Canada’s ambassador and suspended trade. Many universities expressed concern that China would similarly pull its students from Canada in light of the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in December 2018.