‘New chapter’: B.C. student starts school at McGill University despite Quebec tuition increase

Almost a year ago, Daniel Jennings from Vancouver Island, B.C. was questioning whether he would apply to McGill University in Montreal because of Quebec’s announced tuition hikes for out-of-province students attending English universities this fall.

“It was a lot of weighing, decision-making, pros and cons, back-and-forth conversations,” he said, outside of McGill’s historic Roddick Gates.

On Wednesday, he marked his first day of classes at McGill.

Months earlier, he decided to take the plunge and apply, regardless of the extra $3,000 the government is charging.

“It was a con, but it wasn’t enough to off-set the advantages of McGill to me in comparison to the other schools,” he said. “Although it’s unfortunate and it’s a pain, it’s not enough to turn me away from the confidence I get that being in Montreal is right for me.”

We first met Jennings late last October amid the government’s initial announced plan to almost double tuition fees from $9,000 to over $17,000.

“It really spoke to like, ‘Oh my goodness, perhaps I do have to reconsider my choice,'” he said. “But thankfully, that didn’t last long until we heard it was only the $3,000 increase, which as I said, while still unfortunate, isn’t enough to change my mind.

“If it had stayed as a double, I can’t tell you if I’d be here right now,” he added.

Quebec made the change as part of an effort to protect the French language, but two of the largest English-language universities in the province are now fighting it.

Last February, McGill University and Concordia University announced they are suing the Quebec government over its decision to hike tuition.

In separate lawsuits, the two Montreal universities said the government’s decision constitutes discrimination under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and that the hikes have damaged the schools’ reputations.

On Wednesday, Concordia reported a nearly 30 per cent drop in new registrations of out-of-province students.

McGill University says it won’t have its final enrolment numbers until October, but it said last December it was seeing a 20 per cent decrease.

Aside from tuition, starting in the fall of 2025, students will need to pass a French proficiency exam to graduate.

This does not affect students like Jennings.

“I’m still choosing to be here, being an out-of-province Anglophone student,” he said.

“My message to the government would be that: I want to contribute and actively participate in Montreal while I’m here. I would be interested in learning French if I’m going to stay in Montreal for longer and it would be to recognize the value that the student population here brings not just economically but socially as well.

“I want to be someone that doesn’t just study but lives and thrives in Montreal and I think that’s very worth recognizing,” he added.

Jennings is now a student in Commerce. Finance may be a big topic for him in the next few years — both inside and outside the classroom — thanks to the tuition increase.

“While it took some complicated decision-making and thinking, especially with these changes, now I’m just ready for a fresh start,” he said.

“It’s a new chapter for my whole life moving away from home and I’m ready to just get underway.”

Jennings says he has already made friends in Montreal.

“I feel positive and ready to begin what I think will be four years of a lot of learning, a lot of experience and a lot of confirming that I made the right decision in this process.”

-With files from The Canadian Press