Inside Cape Breton University's Great Hall, the blue-and-white crossed flag of Nova Scotia is surrounded by dozens of other flags forming a quiltlike patchwork: China, Greece, Egypt, Liberia, Nepal, Turkey, Ghana, Switzerland, Italy, Lebanon, Mozambique and Jordan. The display is a celebration of diversity - the culmination of years of effort to recruit and welcome students from around the world into the small university and community of Sydney, N.S.
The rise of international students at CBU was dramatic: from 2017 to the fall of 2023, the university tripled its student population from under 900 to nearly 7,000. Eight of 10 new students were international a crucial part of the effort on Cape Breton Island to sustain its aging population. Islanders are 10 years older than the Canadian average, and much like the rest of the Atlantic region, struggling to cope with a worrying decline in the youth population.
"We're the oldest region in an aging country and it is essential to our sustainability to welcome newcomers. And which better newcomer than international students?" says Victor Tomiczek, CBU's director of international recruitment and global partnerships.
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