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The International Experience Class (IEC) is a new name for a familiar program known as the International Youth Program and International Exchange Programs. Both of these programs allowed for the exchange of young people to come and visit Canada and work to support themselves while they visited and became familiar with the country. The Canadian government approved the creation of an international travel and exchange program in 1967 to allow for the exchange of young people between partner nations to enhance relationship building between those countries. The IEC program is more commonly known as the Working Holiday or Student Work Abroad Program (SWAP). The recently re-named International Experience Canada program maintains/continues Canada’s objective of fostering close bilateral relations between participating nations through cultural exchanges that allow for youth to obtain a mutual understanding about different cultures through overseas international travel and work experience. Because these agreements are reciprocal, not only can young people come to Canada, but Canadian youth are also able to travel and obtain valuable cultural and work experience abroad.