International student in-migration to Atlantic Canada is increasingly offered as a policy solution to the problem of local youth out-migration in a region that currently has the lowest birth rates and highest median age of any region in the country. For both provincial and federal policy-makers, attracting and retaining international youth to Atlantic Canada is seen as crucial to what is perceived to be a demographic powder keg and represents an important step toward long-term regional sustainability. Integrating international students to Nova Scotia is seen as a key priority for addressing Atlantic growth objectives. This is happening in the wider context of ever-increasing numbers of international students travelling globally and specifically to Canada, which in 2017 admitted 494,925 international students into the country. Within this context, Nova Scotia’s higher education institutions report some of the biggest surges in international student enrollment in the country. However, what is missing is a clear understanding of what Atlantic Canadian youth, be they local or international, really want.

By bringing together the voices of both international and local students in Nova Scotia, this 2-year study asks the following: How do youth desires to stay or leave take shape, and how do these desires in turn influence youths’ mobility intentions?