Although these are all just theories, and I have no way to prove them, I do think there are several reasons for why many Middle Eastern guys want to date Canadian girls.

Of course, there are exceptions. Some guys from a culture that is different from the Canadian one don’t think much of the girls who go to bars on the weekends and get drunk. Several of the students whom I tutor have told me that they can’t be sure that a Canadian girl will be faithful to them because they have seen women at bars come on to a lot of different men and engage in behaviour that the guy in question does not approve of. A lot of international students go to bars but do not get drunk. According to some of my students, a lot of girls behave with a serious lack of dignity when they are in the bar.

However, many Middle Eastern guys are not put off by this and are still willing to date Canadian girls. One reason why I think this is so is because Canadians represent something different than what an international student is used to. Canadian women are not shy. Although maybe sometimes they do things they shouldn’t, like get carried away at a bar, they are also a lot of fun, freely express opinions, and have a lot of knowledge that someone who is not from Canada might like to participate in, and find out about.

A second reason why Middle Eastern guys might like to date Canadian girls is because a lot of guys, when they are in their home countries, do not date at all, especially if they are Muslim. So they come here and suddenly they have the freedom and independence necessary to date Canadian girls. They want to see what it’s like to date according to the rules of Western culture. They want to know what they are missing. No one wants to feel like everyone else is having fun but not the person themselves.

A third reason is because if a Middle Eastern guy gets a Canadian girlfriend, that is the ultimate symbol of fitting in, in the new culture. I can only imagine how lonely it must be for many international students who come to Canada. I know that if students come from a certain country, other students who are also citizens of that country take the new student under their wing, and so the new student can have a vibrant social life because of that. However, I think it is just human nature to want to fit in with the majority. The rate of international students is growing quickly, but obviously there are still a lot more Canadians running around Halifax than international students. If an international student has a Canadian girlfriend, they are much more likely to make Canadian friends, improve their English, and receive the benefits of Canadian culture. Of course, as I indicate earlier in this article, exposure to Canadian culture is not always a good thing.

A fourth reason is that if an international student marries his Canadian girlfriend, then he might get to stay in Canada by becoming a permanent resident, known as PR. I’m not saying international students plan relationships on the basis of their immigration status; I’m just pointing out that a fringe benefit to such a relationship is that they get to stay here. Many Middle Eastern students like Canada because it is a fairly developed country. Depending on which country they are specifically from, they can enjoy a lot more opportunity, both in terms of financial health, and also in terms of freedom and independence (not just in relation to the dating scene, but also in terms of working at a job they like, rather than what someone tells them they should do). If they have PR, they can move from province to province. They do not need a work permit or a study permit. There are a lot of advantages to having PR in Canada, and if they happen to fall in love with a Canadian girl, and get PR also, then everyone wins. And this includes Canada, because we get to experience as a country the benefits of diversity that international students, especially educated international students, bring to our culture and society.