From “friendly relations” to differential fees: A history of international student policy in Canada since World War II by Dale M. McCartney B.A., Simon Fraser University, 2004 M.A., Simon Fraser University, 2010 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Educational Studies) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) August 2020 © Dale M. McCartney, 2020 The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for acceptance, the dissertation entitled: From “friendly relations” to differential fees: A history of international student policy in Canada since World War II submitted by Dale M. McCartney in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Studies Examining Committee: Amy Scott Metcalfe, Educational Studies Co-supervisor Jason Ellis, Educational Studies Co-supervisor Donald Fisher, Educational Studies Supervisory Committee Member Lesley Andres, Educational Studies University Examiner Steven Hugh Lee, History University Examiner ii Abstract This dissertation examines the development of policy related to international undergraduate students in Canada since the end of the Second World War. It draws on archival materials from the federal, British Columbia, and Ontario governments, and seven institutions: the University of Toronto, Carleton University, Wilfrid Laurier University, Seneca College, the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, and Kwantlen Polytechnic University. The dissertation unearths the initial proto-policies developed by non-governmental agencies that provided services for international students, and examines how the priorities of these service groups were inherited by institutions as the organizations were formally incorporated into universities and colleges. It follows these early policy makers as they responded to international students’ own emerging consciousness, and the transition of students from welcome visitors to dangerous possible immigrants in the eyes of Members of Parliament. Out of this new context emerged differential tuition fees, which were first contested, then embraced by institutions. As differential fees became normalized, they reshaped institutions, driving them to dramatically expand recruitment efforts of international students. The dissertation concludes by examining another unintended emerging policy, as Canadian immigration policy and international student recruitment efforts combine to situate post- secondary institutions as immigrant selectors. In the process, the dissertation demonstrates the development of international student policy in Canada was uneven and reactive. Policy was crafted informally at the institutional level, or by non-governmental actors, and then formalized by institutions or governments when convenient. Although policies emerged fitfully, Canadian policy makers adopted policies only when beneficial for Canada and Canadian institutions, either politically or economically. Yet iii international student policies were consistently framed as an expression of the “internationalism” of Canadian higher education. However, the different attitudes towards international students embedded in policy demonstrate competing conceptions of internationalism at the institutional and government level. Finally, the dissertation argues that contemporary policy regarding international students, including the 2014 development of a Federal international education strategy, are not a break from this history but instead the culmination of decades of policy debates. iv Lay Summary This dissertation examines the development of policy related to international undergraduate students in Canada since World War II. It argues that while international students were initially valued for their contribution to Canada’s Cold War foreign policy, over time they came to be viewed suspiciously, and were classified as a type of migrant. As migrants, it became acceptable to charge them higher tuition fees than domestic students. At first universities opposed these fees, which were widely seen as unjust. But the economic pressures of the 1970s and 1980s forced institutions to rely on international student tuition. By the end of the 1980s international students were highly valued for how they could help fund Canadian postsecondary institutions. This launched a new era of transformation in colleges and universities, as they reshaped themselves, and the government changed immigration laws, to increase the number of international students they could attract. v Preface This dissertation is an historical study based on archival research collected and analyzed by the author. This work did not require approval from an ethics board, and none of this material has been published elsewhere. vi Table of Contents Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... iii Lay Summary .................................................................................................................................v Preface ........................................................................................................................................... vi Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................ vii List of Tables .............................................................................................................................. xiii List of Figures ............................................................................................................................. xiv Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................xv Dedication ................................................................................................................................. xviii Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................1 Chapter 2: Literature review ......................................................................................................11 2.1 Research design: critical policy analysis ...................................................................... 12 2.1.1 Critical policy history ........................................................................................... 13 2.1.2 Theory ................................................................................................................... 16 2.1.2.1 Historical Materialism ...................................................................................... 17 2.1.2.2 Deimperialization .............................................................................................. 19 2.1.2.3 Scott’s Seeing Like a State ................................................................................ 20 2.2 Relevant Literatures ...................................................................................................... 21 2.2.1 History of higher education .................................................................................. 21 2.2.2 The history of Canadian (im)migration policy ..................................................... 26 2.2.3 Critical internationalization studies ...................................................................... 27 2.3 Definitions ..................................................................................................................... 30 vii 2.3.1 International student .............................................................................................. 30 2.3.2 Internationalism .................................................................................................... 31 2.3.3 Neocolonialism ..................................................................................................... 32 2.3.4 Access ................................................................................................................... 32 Chapter 3: “That brotherhood may prevail” – the beginnings of international student policy in Canada ...........................................................................................................................34 3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 34 3.2 Background and Context – Foreign affairs before World War II ................................. 36 3.2.1 Canadian foreign affairs after WWII and into the Cold War ................................ 38 3.2.2 The Colombo plan and foreign aid ....................................................................... 39 3.2.3 Aid programs and international students .............................................................. 40 3.2.4 The ideology of aid programs ............................................................................... 42 3.2.4.1 The ideology of aid programs and international students ................................. 44 3.3 First steps to policy ....................................................................................................... 46 3.3.1 NGOs and international student services .............................................................. 47 3.3.1.1 FROS and UT ..................................................................................................