"I was so happy I burst into tears," recalled Maelys Dunand, 21, a third-year law and political science student at the Université Lumière Lyon-II. One morning in February 2024, she received an email from her university informing her that she had been selected for a one-year exchange program at the University of British Columbia, in Canada. She rushed to her computer and immediately set about completing the necessary formalities: "I did some research about accommodation, the list of courses, plane tickets, student jobs..." she recalled, already picturing herself in Vancouver.

Around 200 Lyon-II students apply to study in Canada every year; by 2023, fewer than half had been accepted. In 2021, the coutry was the third most popular destination for French students, after Belgium and the UK, according to figures from Campus France, the French agency for the promotion of higher education. Around 18,000 French students went to Canadian higher education institutions in 2022.

On March 25, 2024, Maelys got a new message from her university. She was informed that the conditions for obtaining a student visa had changed. She would no longer be allowed to go for a whole year, her studies would no longer count toward her degree and the student, who was on scholarship, would not be allowed to work. "Suddenly, I had nothing left," she explained. Like Maelys, thousands of students have seen the door to Canada slammed in their faces over the past year.

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