The ongoing American election and the country’s turbulent last few years have left many American students considering Canadian options for post-secondary education. 

The incredibly close 2020 presidential election, which is still undecided as of press time, shows that the United States is still a remarkably divided country. The University of Winnipeg (U of W), located only one hour away from the Canada-US border, is home to many American students and faculty members who say studying in Canada is an increasingly attractive option.

Dr. Julie Pelletier, an associate professor of anthropology at the U of W, holds American citizenship and has lived and studied in the US. She frequently encourages Americans to study in Winnipeg.

“Academically, Canadian universities are strong,” she says, though this is far from the only selling point for American students.

“The readily available healthcare is startling to many,” Pelletier says.

Lily O’Donnell, a fourth-year rhetoric and communications student at the U of W, came from Saint Paul, Minn. to study in Winnipeg. She cites lower tuition fees as one of the main reasons she decided to do her undergraduate degree in Canada.

“Minnesotan students can pay the domestic Manitoba student rate for tuition at the University of Winnipeg, which is far cheaper than any university tuition I could get anywhere in the States,” she says. 

While Canadian students may take out student loans, the average American student finishes their undergraduate degree with $132,860 USD ($174,722 CAD) worth of debt. This is astronomically higher than the Canadian average of $28,000 CAD of debt for a bachelor’s degree. Even Pelletier, as a professor, prefers working in an environment where the burden placed on students is not as acute.

“I would very much prefer that the students in the States could have a good education without being impoverished for decades after they leave school,” she says.

Despite the geographic proximity between the US and Canada, O’Donnell says there are big differences between the countries, including that she sees the former as a “much scarier and divided place.”

“In America, I think the younger generations are realizing that the only hope is to burn it all down and build it up again,” she says, whereas Canadians have not yet “gotten to that level of anger or desperation.” O’Donnell mentions COVID-19 pandemic responses as a major difference between the countries. In fact, the US has had more deaths per capita and total cases per capita than Canada.

“I think the election and just everything going on right now makes a lot of American students want to move,” O’Donnell says. In fact, O’Donnell has encouraged her American friends to study at the U of W.

“Tuition is cheaper, rent is cheaper, (the dollar) conversion is very good,” she says.

“It’s definitely an awesome, community-oriented place,” O’Donnell says.

Published in Volume 75, Number 08 of The Uniter (November 5, 2020)