On October 13th, the Quebec government announced new measures to increase higher education fees for incoming out-of-province and international students studying in Quebec’s English-language universities. This change will take effect starting in September 2024. Tuition for new out-of-province undergrad and master’s students will go up to around $17,000 a year; with a large portion of those fees going to the provincial government.
Quebec government presented the move as necessary to protect the French language and is planning to redistribute the funds among the province’s French speaking higher-education institutions. It was argued that out-of-province students are a threat to French because they do not learn the language and leave the province after their studies, but the province has not provided data to back those statements.
This new law would result in the highest undergraduate tuition rates in Canada for domestic students, raising fears that the measure would drastically reduce attendance at the province’s three English universities, McGill, Concordia, and Bishop’s, which welcome more non-Quebec students than French institutions.
It goes without saying that these measures could affect the recruitment of prospective Canadian students from outside Quebec, as it will cost less to study elsewhere in Canada for many programs.
McGill, Concordia and Bishop’s universities pledged to Quebec Premier François Legault and Higher Education Minister Pascale Déry during a meeting in Montreal on Monday of a new proposal instead of a tuition hike. As a part of their efforts to integrate future graduates into Quebec society, they proposed a range of new measures, including a mandatory French-language course for students from outside the province.
Unfortunately, the government said it remains firm that Quebec taxpayers should not subsidize lower fees for students from outside the province.
Despite not backing down, Quebec says discussions with English universities will continue.
