What joining the EU’s Erasmus+ program could mean for Canada

In his recent address to the European Parliament, Prime Minister Mark Carney proposed that Canada join Erasmus+, a European Union program that supports education, training, youth and sports.

Carney presented the idea as part of a closer Canada-Europe partnership. He said it could give young people more opportunities to live, work and study on either side of the Atlantic.

For Canada, joining Erasmus+ could mean more than another university exchange program. It could expand opportunities for students and staff to study, train and work abroad. It could also support new partnerships among institutions. But these benefits would depend on how Canadian participation is funded, administered and made accessible.

Erasmus+ could move Canada beyond reliance on pilot programs, such as the Global Skills Opportunity program. It could provide a more durable framework for study, training and educational mobility abroad.

The Global Skills Opportunity program offers an important lesson. Participation can be broadened when funding and support are deliberately designed for students who face barriers to studying abroad. That experience could help shape a more accessible Canadian approach to Erasmus+.

More than a student exchange

Canada is already involved in parts of Erasmus+. At present, it’s classified as a “third country not associated to the Programme,” meaning Canadian institutions can take part in certain activities under specific conditions. Countries formally associated with Erasmus+ can participate more fully across the program.

Erasmus+ extends well beyond university exchanges. The program includes postsecondary education and training, adult education, youth exchanges and professional development. It also supports educators, youth-sector professionals, sports staff and partnerships among institutions and organizations.

The United Kingdom provides a recent example of a non-EU country negotiating formal association with Erasmus+. After leaving the program following Brexit, it will return in 2027. British organizations will then be able to apply across the full range of Erasmus+ activities.

What does the research tell us?

Research suggests that international study and training can produce educational and employment benefits. But the outcomes can vary among countries and students.

A 2021 study of graduates in Italy and the U.K. found an early employment advantage for students who studied abroad. In both countries, they were more likely to be employed shortly after graduation.

Other research points to benefits beyond employment: A 2022 study of an Erasmus+ mobility program found gains in intercultural competence and professional skills among participants. Experiences abroad can also expose students to different ways of learning and working while helping them develop communication and intercultural skills.

Access to these opportunities is not evenly distributed, however. A 2024 study of 46,000 graduates from an Italian university found that students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds were less likely to study or train abroad through Erasmus+.

Canada’s experience with the Global Skills Opportunity program is useful here. The five-year pilot supported nearly 15,000 Canadian postsecondary students in international learning experiences before ending in March 2025. In its final year, 71% of participants were from groups identified as underrepresented, including low-income students, Indigenous students and students with disabilities.

That experience shows why the design of Canadian participation in Erasmus+ would matter. The availability of funding and targeted support could determine whether these opportunities reach a broad range of students or remain concentrated among those already well positioned to study abroad.

Questions Canada would need to answer

There would also be practical challenges.

Toronto-based higher education consultant Alex Usher has raised financial and administrative concerns about Canada’s participation in Erasmus+. One question is how tuition would be handled. Another is how studies completed abroad would count toward Canadian credentials.

Credit recognition could be complicated by Canada’s decentralized postsecondary systems. Provinces and territories have different approaches, and institutions often set their own requirements.

Those concerns merit consideration, but Carney’s proposal is still at a very early stage. Canada and the European Union have not yet negotiated the terms of participation. Costs, funding arrangements and administrative rules would all need to be worked out.

Canada would also need to consider how Erasmus+ study would be recognized by universities and colleges. Credit transfer arrangements vary considerably across Canadian provinces, territories and postsecondary institutions. Europe, by comparison, uses the more standardized European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System.

The central question, then, is not simply whether Canada is able to join Erasmus+, but what form Canadian participation would take.

A Canadian agreement could expand opportunities to study, train, teach and gain professional experience in Europe while creating new avenues for institutional collaboration. Whether those opportunities are broadly accessible and workable for Canadian governments and postsecondary institutions would depend on how the agreement is designed.

Who’s behind this story?

Swati Mestri

Swati Mestri holds a bachelor’s degree in Electronics Engineering and has worked as a content editor since 2019. She has experience editing research documents across technology, health care, and materials science, and has a particular interest in technology and space.

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Andrew Zinin

Master’s in physics with research experience. Long-time science news enthusiast. Plays key role in Science X’s editorial success.

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