Classes can resume at Quebec private colleges that suddenly closed, tribunal rules
Posted July 29, 2026 10:58 am.
Last Updated July 29, 2026 11:10 am.
Private colleges in Montreal and Sherbrooke can resume classes effective immediately after Quebec’s administrative tribunal suspended the provincial government’s sudden decision not to renew their permits.
Collège supérieur de Montréal and its sister campus Collège supérieur de Sherbrooke were forced to shutter their doors earlier this month after Quebec’s Ministry of Education denied the renewal of their licences.
That decision left a combined 878 international students in limbo.
Now, following a decision rendered Tuesday by the Tribunal administratif du Québec, students can resume their studies.
“This decision is first and foremost excellent news for our students,” said Noureddine Hajibi, the schools’ director general. “From the outset, our priority has always been to protect their academic progress and prevent them from suffering the consequences of a hasty and unjustified decision by the Ministry of Education.
“We are pleased to be able to welcome them back and resume our teaching mission.”
A spokesperson for Quebec’s Ministry of Education told CityNews in mid-July the decision not to renew the licences followed “an analysis of their situation in light of the applicable requirements. The ministry has not publicly disclosed the specific reasons, citing ongoing administrative proceedings.
Leadership at the two colleges say they maintain the reasons given by the ministry “do not reflect their reality or the considerable efforts made to meet statutory and regulatory requirements.”
They say they “remain confident that their position will be fully heard when the tribunal is called upon to rule on the merits of the case.”
