Ambivalent Mobilities? Social Resilience and the Experiences of International Students in Canada¹.

This article examines the dual role of Canadian universities in the recruitment and support of international students within the country's neoliberal "managed migration" framework aimed at economic goals. It highlights how universities actively recruit international students as a revenue source amid public funding cuts, while simultaneously providing essential but often ad hoc support services to address these students' complex academic, social, and settlement challenges. Using a qualitative case study of two Ontario universities in Ottawa—Carleton University and the bilingual University of Ottawa—the study explores international students' experiences of academic adjustment, isolation, financial hardship, and exclusion, as well as their engagement with university resources and ethnocultural communities. The analysis employs the concept of "social resilience" to understand how institutional supports and student agency interact in navigating these challenges, noting that universities' current services tend to focus on short-term adjustment rather than addressing broader systemic barriers. The article suggests that while universities have become key actors in both migration governance and student support, market-driven pressures and limited funding may constrain their capacity to provide comprehensive resources for international student integration.