Cost of Studying in Canada for Indian Students in 2026-27

  • Last Updated on: October 12, 2026 by
  • Mavya Kunapareddy
Cost of Studying in Canada for Indian Students
Cost of Studying in Canada for Indian Students

The cost of studying in Canada for Indian students in 2026/27 is about CAD 39,160 for a first year on a Conestoga College diploma in Ontario. At the average bachelor’s fee, it’s CAD 65,745. Both totals count tuition, a year of living costs and permit fees. MBAs and University of British Columbia (UBC) bachelor’s degrees cost more, while a UBC research master’s costs less. The money you show as proof of funds is your year’s living budget, not an extra bill. Find your route in the table below, with its Year-1 total in CAD and rupees, then use our study in Canada guide for everything beyond the money.

Written by
Mavya Kunapareddy
Country Head-Canada
Canada head with 6 years of experience and guided over 600 students
89% Visa Success Rate
Reviewed by
Sridhar Kongara
Managing Director
Mr. Kongara Sridhar, Director of AOEC India, has over 12 years of experience in overseas education consulting, admissions, and student visa guidance.
Over 12 years Experience

Key Takeaways

  • Year one costs CAD 39,160 (INR 26.5 lakh) on a Conestoga diploma and CAD 65,745 (INR 44.4 lakh) at the average 2026/27 bachelor’s fee.
  • The CAD 23,448 (INR 15.8 lakh) proof of funds is your living budget, shown in advance, not a second cost.
  • A spouse joining you lifts the funds figure to CAD 29,192 (INR 19.7 lakh) a year.
  • Your province changes tuition the most: CAD 18,911 (INR 12.8 lakh) in Newfoundland and Labrador against CAD 50,088 (INR 33.8 lakh) in Ontario.
  • A Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC) is optional; six months of bank statements or an education-loan sanction letter also prove funds.
  • Diploma and certificate graduates get a post-graduation work permit (PGWP) only in eligible fields; degree graduates don’t face that rule.
Table of Contents
First-Year Cost of Studying in Canada by Route (2026-27) Scroll here ↓ Tuition Fees in Canada by Province for International Students (2026-27) Scroll here ↓ Monthly Living Costs in Canada for Students by City Scroll here ↓ Proof of Funds, Permit Fees and What Part-Time Work Covers Scroll here ↓ Frequently Asked Questions Scroll here ↓

First-Year Cost of Studying in Canada by Route (2026-27)

For 2026-27, the first-year cost of studying in Canada for Indian students is three costs added together. Tuition comes first. Next is CAD 23,448 (INR 15.8 lakh) for a year of living costs. Last is CAD 235 (INR 15,878) in one-off study permit and biometrics (fingerprints and a photo) fees set by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

RouteFirst-year tuition (CAD)Living costs, 1 year (CAD)Permit + biometrics (CAD)Year-1 total (CAD)Year-1 total (INR)Later years
Average bachelor’s, Canada42,06223,44823565,74544.4 lakhFlat fee assumed: 4 years CAD 262,275 (INR 1.77 crore)
Average graduate degree, Canada24,69323,44823548,37632.7 lakhFlat fee assumed
Conestoga College diploma15,477 (2 terms) plus campus fees23,44823539,16026.5 lakhCheck work-permit list
Conestoga graduate certificate16,809 (2 terms) plus campus fees23,44823540,49227.4 lakhCheck work-permit list
Memorial University bachelor’s (new students)22,500 (2 semesters)23,44823546,18331.2 lakhFall 2026 starters’ rate
UBC Science, first year53,08223,44823576,76551.9 lakhCapped +3%/yr
UBC research (thesis) master’s10,082 a year23,44823533,76522.8 lakhFixed until you finish
Rotman One-Year MBA (University of Toronto)108,570 (one-year programme) plus campus fees23,448235132,25389.4 lakhOne year

INR figures use the live Google-published rate captured on 2026-10-05: CAD 1 ≈ INR 67.57. Rates fluctuate intraday; figures are indicative.

The living-costs column is IRCC’s minimum. Toronto living costs more, as the city table below shows.

Parents: the living-costs column is your child’s budget, not a fee. It’s the rent, food and transport they’ll spend anyway; you show it before the visa, then they live on it. Adding a second living-cost line on top means borrowing for the same year twice.

You pay tuition and living costs again every year, but not the permit fees. At UBC, tuition for 2026/27 starters can rise by no more than 3% a year, so a Science student’s second-year tuition stays at or under CAD 54,674. Budget for rises: Statistics Canada’s preliminary average international undergraduate fee rose about 4% for 2026/27, the graduate one about 3.6%.

Class 12 students can start with our guide to studying in Canada after 12th.

Before you pay a diploma deposit, check the course is on the work-permit list. After a diploma or graduate certificate, you can stay and work in Canada only if your course is on the eligible list. That permit is the Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP), and the 2026 list holds 1,107 programmes, CIC News reports. Degree graduates don’t need to check. This rule covers you if you first applied for a Canadian study permit on or after 1 November 2024. Our guide to the post-study work visa in Canada shows how to check.

From our counselling desk: Families at our Hyderabad and Tirupati offices often arrive sure a GIC is compulsory, ready to lock the whole living amount in a Canadian bank. It isn't required. We'd rather see an education-loan sanction letter for tuition and an account that has held the living money steadily for months, because the visa officer checks how long the money has been there.

Tuition Fees in Canada by Province for International Students (2026-27)

Which province you study in changes your tuition more than anything else. For 2026/27, average international undergraduate tuition runs from CAD 18,911 a year (INR 12.8 lakh) in Newfoundland and Labrador to CAD 50,088 (INR 33.8 lakh) in Ontario, on Statistics Canada’s provincial averages. So Ontario’s average is over two and a half times Newfoundland and Labrador’s.

ProvinceUndergraduate (CAD a year)INRGraduate (CAD a year)INR
Newfoundland and Labrador18,91112.8 lakh6,9964.7 lakh
New Brunswick20,02913.5 lakh16,69111.3 lakh
Prince Edward Island22,06714.9 lakh14,2029.6 lakh
Manitoba23,16015.6 lakh14,0309.5 lakh
Nova Scotia31,05721.0 lakh26,23017.7 lakh
Saskatchewan33,49622.6 lakh9,8076.6 lakh
Alberta36,36924.6 lakh18,30212.4 lakh
Quebec36,87924.9 lakh24,69416.7 lakh
British Columbia40,31427.2 lakh27,61218.7 lakh
Ontario50,08833.8 lakh28,90019.5 lakh

Averages include tuition and compulsory fees. Statistics Canada may revise these 2026/27 figures slightly.

Pick the province first, then a school inside it. For a master’s the gap is wider still: Saskatchewan’s graduate average is about a third of Ontario’s. Ontario and British Columbia hold the names most families shortlist, and our guide to universities in Canada compares them school by school.

  • New students usually pay more than these averages. The averages include older students still paying earlier rates. That’s why Memorial University’s fee for new students, in the first table, is higher than the Newfoundland and Labrador figure here.
  • Quebec has one extra step and asks for more money. In Quebec, home to McGill in Montreal, you’ll need a CAQ (Certificat d’acceptation du Québec, Quebec’s own acceptance certificate) before the federal study permit. From 1 January 2026, a single adult must show CAD 24,617 a year for living costs, CIC News reports.

Monthly Living Costs in Canada for Students by City

Budget from a shared room, not an apartment. Rent is most of your monthly bill. It changes by hundreds of dollars from city to city, while food, phone and transit cost about the same everywhere. A shared room saves you more than moving to a cheaper city does.

CityShared room, a monthApartment, a monthProvincial health cover
TorontoCAD 1,187 (INR 80,201)CAD 2,570 (INR 1.74 lakh)UHIP CAD 79 (INR 5,338) a month
VancouverCAD 1,130 (INR 76,350)CAD 2,704 (INR 1.83 lakh)MSP CAD 75 (INR 5,067) a month, after a 3-month wait
CalgaryCAD 807 (INR 54,526)CAD 1,825 (INR 1.23 lakh)AHCIP if your permit runs 12 months and you live in Alberta 12 months

Rents are average advertised rents for August 2026, from the Rentals.ca National Rent Report. UHIP is Ontario’s University Health Insurance Plan, MSP is British Columbia’s Medical Services Plan and AHCIP is the Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan.

A lean Toronto month, using the University of Toronto’s 2026 cost estimates for everything except rent:

  • Shared room: CAD 1,187
  • Food: CAD 350 and up
  • Transit: CAD 0 to 150
  • Phone: CAD 50 to 100
  • UHIP: CAD 79
  • Entertainment and other: CAD 200

That’s CAD 1,866 to 2,066 a month. Over 12 months, plus books at CAD 550 a semester, it comes to CAD 23,492 to 25,892 a year, so even a lean Toronto year runs slightly above the funds figure. Budget above it, not at it, and add home internet at CAD 60 to 115 a month if your room doesn’t include it.

Outside Toronto and Vancouver, costs drop. In Winnipeg, the University of Manitoba student health plan (MISHP) costs CAD 1,320 for 2026-27, about CAD 110 a month. In August 2026 a shared room cost CAD 838 a month in Montreal and CAD 776 in Edmonton, on the same Rentals.ca figures. At Memorial University in St. John’s, international health insurance costs CAD 548 for two semesters. Memorial also estimates first-winter clothing at about CAD 225 to 575 in all, a cost your living budget has to cover. That’s a jacket at CAD 100 to 300, boots at CAD 50 to 200, and a hat and gloves at CAD 75.

Proof of Funds, Permit Fees and What Part-Time Work Covers

There is no single fixed bank balance for a Canada study visa. From 1 September 2026, IRCC’s proof of financial support rules ask a single applicant outside Quebec to show CAD 23,448 (INR 15.8 lakh) for a year of living costs. Tuition and travel come on top, so your bank figure is all three added together.

HouseholdLiving funds a year (CAD)INR
You alone23,44815.8 lakh
You and a spouse29,19219.7 lakh
Family of 335,88824.2 lakh
Family of 443,57229.4 lakh
  • Recheck the figure before you apply. IRCC updates it every year.
  • A GIC is optional. A Guaranteed Investment Certificate (a one-year deposit with a Canadian bank) is one accepted proof; an education-loan sanction letter, bank statements and paid-fee receipts also count. A GIC was required under the Student Direct Stream (SDS), the old fast-track route, which IRCC closed on 8 November 2024.
  • Six months of statements. Visa officers’ instructions from July 2026 suggest six months of bank statements, up from four, CIC News reports. Move the money in early.
  • Later years need a plan. If your programme runs past one year, you must explain how you’ll pay for the rest; an education-loan sanction covering the whole course does that.

The study permit fee is CAD 150 and biometrics CAD 85 per person; our walkthrough of the Canada student visa covers the rest of the application.

Part-time work can help with rent, but it won’t pay your tuition. You can work up to 24 hours a week off campus during term. In scheduled breaks you can work any number of hours, for up to 180 days a calendar year, CIC News reports. Parents: plan as if your child earns nothing; treat any wages as a cushion.

You’ll pay a few costs before you leave India. PTE Academic costs INR 18,900 in India, and IELTS is accepted too; our Canada requirements guide lists the scores. Application fees run CAD 173.25 at UBC and CAD 196 at the University of Toronto if you apply only to U of T. Add the Immigration Medical Exam (IME, a health check with an IRCC-approved panel doctor) and your flight; neither has a fixed published price.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Enough for your first-year tuition, CAD 23,448 (INR 15.8 lakh) for a year of living costs and your travel, if you’re applying alone outside Quebec. For a new Memorial University bachelor’s student, that’s CAD 45,948 (about INR 31.0 lakh) before flights. A GIC isn’t required; loan sanction letters and bank statements also count.

At the 2026/27 average graduate fee, a two-year master’s costs about CAD 96,517 (INR 65.2 lakh) across both years, if fees stay flat. That counts tuition and living costs each year and permit fees once. A thesis master’s at UBC costs much less, and an MBA costs far more; our master’s in Canada guide compares both routes.

Yes, per year. Conestoga’s 2026-27 diploma tuition is CAD 26,585 (about INR 18.0 lakh) a year below the national average bachelor’s fee. The catch is the work permit: a diploma leads to a PGWP only if its field is on the eligible list. A programme of two years or more can earn a PGWP of up to three years.

Some can, though few cover the whole cost of studying in Canada for Indian students. UBC’s International Major Entrance Scholarship pays CAD 10,000 to 25,000 (INR 6.8 to 16.9 lakh) a year for up to four years, CAD 40,000 to 100,000 (INR 27.0 to 67.6 lakh) in total. See our Canada scholarships guide.

Spread over 12 months, the CAD 23,448 (INR 15.8 lakh) funds figure works out to about CAD 1,954 (INR 1.32 lakh) a month, a fair planning number for a shared room in most cities. Toronto can run above it, while Calgary rooms rent for about 32% less than Toronto’s, leaving more money each month.

Sources

Official sources first, then reputable third-party.

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