Through the lens of critical policy analysis, this paper examines the context of K-12 international education in two Canadian provinces. Both Ontario and Manitoba have seen the fastest growth in Canada when it comes to international students, yet those provinces represent distinctly different contexts. In this paper, we examine how international education has been approached as policy at the K-12 level in both provinces. Empirical data was collected through document analysis and stakeholder interviews. By using Ball's (1994) framework of three policy contexts-- (a) the context of influence, (b) the context of policy text production, and (c) the context of practice--this paper reveals that policy is not simply a government directive but rather a complex and contradictory process involving practitioners from schools, school boards, and non-government organizations involving educational administrators. Therefore, to effect change, policy needs to be understood through the perspective of multiple stakeholders. The paper cautions all stakeholders to be more critical of international education as policy, given that in its present form it privileges values that undermine the very foundations of a free equity based publicly funded K-12 educational system in Canada.