Quebec to reduce tuition hikes for out-of-province students: reports

The Quebec government is planning to reduce the increase in tuition fees for students from other Canadian provinces, according to LaPresse.

The bill for students from out-of-province reportedly would increase from about $9,000 to $12,000 per year in the fall of 2024 – about a 33 per cent increase, rather than the initial almost doubling of the fees to reach $17,000.

A petition with over 33,000 signatures was tabled in the National Assembly on Tuesday to ask the government to “cancel the increase in tuition fees imposed on international and Canadian students not residing in Quebec.” The petition was brought on by the Quebec Student Union and the student associations of the three English-speaking universities in the province. 

The announcement in October was met with backlash from English universities, politicians, students, with a protest drawing thousands to the streets of Montreal.

McGill and Concordia universities have said they expect to see a significant drop in enrolment and revenue, while Bishop’s University in Quebec’s Eastern Townships said its survival was threatened.

During a meeting with Premier François Legault on Nov. 6, rectors of English universities offered to make 40 per cent of their non-French-speaking students coming from the rest of Canada and abroad learn French with mandatory courses in exchange for backing down on the measures announced in October.

In the case of Bishop’s University, the government, according to LaPresse, intends to adopt a special measure to take its particular situation into account. While in Sherbrooke on Saturday, Premier Legault suggested that the university could be spared or exempt from the measures.

“There are concerns about the future of French in Montreal, but I have no concerns about Sherbrooke,” he said.

But the government will maintain its new pricing for foreign students, according to LaPresse. It will be a base rate of $20,000 for international student, which the government will collect $3,000. The amounts raised will be used to increase funding for French-speaking universities.

The new plan is expected to be submitted to the Council of Ministers, with an announcement in the next week.