Quebec international students in English schools have nearly doubled in past 10 years

The number of Quebec international students attending English schools has nearly doubled over the past decade, according to provincial statistics, which suggests the rise was pushed by students whose families hold temporary residency permits.

Those parents, for example, may be here to work for a company or international organization for a short period, or they may be diplomats.

Data obtained by CTV News shows the number of students grew from about 2,200 in 2012 to more than 3,800 in 2022.

Last year, the vast majority of their students were from South Korea, India, the U.S., China and even France.

The number of students eligible to study English in Quebec based on temporary immigration status.

Unlike other categories of immigrants, such as asylum seekers, newcomers with a temporary residence permit are allowed to send their children to school in English because of a provision outlined in Bill 101. Russell Copeman, the head of the Quebec English school boards association, says it's a drop in the bucket in terms of Quebec's student population - about 3,000 students out of a million.

However, he said the number does have the added benefit of helping out the English school system, which lost 60 per cent of students since bill 101 was introduced.

"For many years, English school boards were managing that contraction," he said. "It's relatively stable over the last five years, but an influx of 3,200 students is not negligible in terms of the enrolmennt and the financing that brings and the services the school boards are able to offer. So, there's some positive aspects to having those 3200 students in our network in addition to enriching the school experience."

Copeman stressed that it's not a workaround for Bill 101. If the parents decide to stay in Quebec, and eventually apply for permanent residence status, the children would then have to attend French-language schools.