Out-of-province students who want to attend a Quebec English-language university will be paying almost double the cost of tuition by fall of next year as part of Quebec’s plan to ensure the French language is promoted.
In an announcement on Oct. 13, Quebec’s Higher Education Minister Pascale Déry said tuition for students outside the province will increase from $8,992 to $17,000 in fall of 2024. Universities will also be charged $20,000 for each international student attending, and that money will be redirected to fund French universities instead.
The new tuition charges applies to all English-speaking students in Quebec, said Ms. Déry, most of whom attend anglophone institutions. More than half of those students come from Ontario.
Quebec has three English universities—McGill University and Concordia University in Montreal, and Bishop’s University in Lennoxville, east of Montreal.
Ms. Déry said out-of-province and international students generally leave after graduating and it costs close to $17,000 to provide their education. She added that it costs the province $110 million annually to cover the difference between what non-Quebec students pay and what the actual cost is for educating them. She said the province plans to use that money to fund Francophone universities.
“It costs the government of Quebec and the taxpayers of Quebec a very high amount of money for students who come here and who don’t stay here,” Ms. Déry said.
“This is not a measure against anglophones and I want to be clear on that,” she added. “I’m not closing the doors to any anglophone students who want to come to McGill, Concordia, Bishop’s, they will be able to come, it’s just that we’re not ready to continue … (paying) $110 million for students that mostly are not staying here.”
The government also suggested that the measures will help slow the decline of the French language in Quebec.
Ms. Déry said the fee hike was a “major step forward in our governments vision for the future of the French language.” She said the plan aims to correct “the financial imbalance between the French and English networks, caused by previous governments.”
“Thanks to this new pricing model, we are giving ourselves the means to put in place strong measures to promote the French language, enhance the reputation of the French-language university network and encourage the attraction and retention of non-Quebec francophone students in our institutions,” said Ms. Déry.
Language Minister Jean-François Roberge told reporters that the number of students from outside the province has been increasing.
“We can’t put on rose-coloured glasses: in Montreal, there are more and more Canadian and international students and they mainly attend our English-speaking universities, English-speaking programs,” he said.
Criticism
The Anglophone universities criticized the news, saying tuition would become unaffordable for English-speaking students.“A thriving knowledge economy requires a global exchange of talent,” McGill University principal Deep Saini Saini said.
“The measures announced today will have a major, long-term effect on Quebec’s economy. The skilled people we attract and retain contribute significantly to Quebec and provide our businesses with the highly qualified workforce they so urgently need.”
“Most out of province students already pay higher tuition fees in Quebec, with the exception of a few programs (law, medicine) in Ontario and Alberta,“ it said in a statement. ”
“The government of Quebec seem to assume that out-of-province and international students will continue to come to Quebec in the same numbers and are basing their financial redistribution on this. We expect a drop in enrolment from these students which will mean less funding in general for the entire network of universities.”
Concordia president Graham Carr said the government is putting “walls” up for out-of-province students.
“I think the message that this policy has sent today is that the government is putting some walls around access to education in Quebec for people from elsewhere, and I find that really disappointing and counterproductive,” he said.
According to Mr. Carr, half of the international students that come to Concordia end up staying in Quebec. He said in 2022, Concordia placed 4,0000 students into co-op internships with Quebec businesses.
Mr. Carr added that the province needed to support students to learn French and provide opportunities, so they would “stay here.”
Quebec will be able to charge international students any price they want, from what is already typically $20,000 and $28,000 according to Mr. Carr.
“We’re back to the price-point challenge again,” he said. “Students are not cash cows, although the minister seems to think they are; you can’t just raise tuition without limits — it will not work.”
The fee hike does not apply to Ph.D. and research students, only to undergraduate and graduate students who start university in 2024. Some students will be exempt under international agreements.
