55,000 Quebec cegep, university students on week-long strike against austerity in education

More than 55,000 cegep and university students across the province are on a week-long strike protesting austerity measures in education.

Thousands of students belonging to various student unions voted in favour of the strike called by the Coalition de résistance pour l’unité étudiante syndicale (CRUES) between March 23 and 27.

CRUES plans to hold events through the week, including a rally on Friday.

In a press release Monday, the student group denounced cuts to education. They say hiring freezes have impacted student services and resulted in campus infrastructure deteriorating.

“While the government hasn’t openly attacked postsecondary education, it has clearly let it rot for years,” says Elki Mercier, coordinator for CRUES.

CRUES said the 2.4 per cent increase in education spending announced in the 2026-27 budget was insufficient.

According to estimates by the Institute for Research and Socioeconomic Information (IRIS), the education sector needed an increase 3.8 per cent in the budget to meet rising costs.

The student coalition has also called for reforms to the financial assistance program, Aide financière aux études (AFE), which it says provides insufficient bursaries to cover basic needs and adds to food insecurity.

“The students will continue to escalate their pressure tactics, which could go as far as an indefinite general strike,” said Naïma Le Nédic, an internal coordinator for CRUES. “We refuse to negotiate our own impoverishment, regardless of which political party is in power.”