“A Friendly Province to Come and Learn in”: Framing Healthcare Deservingness for International Students in Manitoba

Abstract

In 2018, international students in Manitoba were stunned to learn that once again they no longer had access to public healthcare. Through the lens of noncitizenship assemblage, this shift is reflective of the conditional access to entitlements experienced by precarious status migrants and the frames of deservingness structuring their presence in host countries. Critical Frame Analysis was used to examine Manitoba Hansard and media from 2007–2023 to understand how healthcare for international students in Manitoba was framed. Findings indicate three frames: one in which healthcare is framed as a human right, and the others in which healthcare is positioned as a market incentive or a gesture of inclusion, both meant to attract and retain students. Although we find there is advantage to adopting a frame that connects healthcare to economic contribution for actors seeking to expand access, it nevertheless ties access to government priorities, maintaining conditionality rather than securing rights.