Canada's appeal is rarely the degree on its own. It is the sequence: study, then a Post-Graduation Work Permit, then one of the clearest permanent-residency routes available to international graduates anywhere.
What the PGWP is actually worth
The Post-Graduation Work Permit allows up to three years of open work after graduating, depending on the length of your programme. "Open" is the important word — it is not tied to one employer, so you are not negotiating from inside a sponsorship. That is the single biggest practical difference from the US route.
Eligibility rules for the PGWP are set by the Canadian government and have been revised more than once recently, including which programmes and institutions qualify. Confirm the current rules on the official IRCC pages before you choose an institution on the strength of them. We are a private consultancy, not an immigration authority.
Why a Canadian master's is harder than it looks
This is the part most students are not told. Canadian master's programmes, particularly research-based ones, are smaller and more selective than the UK equivalent. Many expect a supervisor to accept you before admission, which makes the application a two-step process on a longer timeline. Course-based master's programmes are more straightforward but fill quickly.
The result is that a realistic Canada shortlist is short. We publish 42 programmes across 10 Canadian universities, 34 at master's level, concentrated in Computer Science, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Business & Management and Software Engineering. See them at Masters in Canada.
Costs
Tuition for international students varies sharply by province and institution, and living costs differ as much between Toronto and a smaller city as they do between countries. Our cost-of-living comparison places Canada beside the alternatives; per-programme fees are published where we have verified them against the university's own page.
You will also need to show funds for the study permit. That figure is set by the government and revised, so take it from the official source rather than from any agency's blog.
Intakes
September is the dominant intake, with January and May intakes available at many institutions. Because supervisor-matched programmes run on a longer cycle, a September start is often a conversation that begins twelve months earlier rather than eight.
How to approach a supervisor, if you need one
For research-based programmes this is the application. A generic email to forty professors gets forty deletions. One email that names a specific paper, says what in it connects to work you have actually done, and asks a real question about the direction of the lab gets replies.
Attach a CV and a transcript. Say plainly which intake you are aiming at and whether you need funding — a supervisor who has no funding will tell you early, which saves you a cycle. Expect to send ten carefully written emails rather than a hundred copies of one.
Proof of funds
A study permit application has to show you can support yourself, typically through a Guaranteed Investment Certificate or equivalent evidence alongside your tuition payment. Both the required amount and the accepted instruments are set by the Canadian government and have been revised; take the current figure from IRCC rather than from an agency, and build the timeline for arranging it into your plan rather than onto the end of it.
What to do with this
If Canada is on your list mainly for the PR pathway, that is a legitimate reason — but it makes the choice of programme and institution a decision with immigration consequences, not just academic ones. Worth a conversation before you apply rather than after.
The full country guide is at Study in Canada.