LaSalle College reopens Friday after court restores Quebec funding
Posted September 4, 2026 9:11 am.
Last Updated September 4, 2026 2:53 pm.
LaSalle College reopened to students Friday after a Quebec Superior Court judge on Thursday ordered the provincial government to restore its funding through the 2026–27 school year.
The classes at the Montreal college were put on hold last week.
Classes began at 8 a.m. Friday morning and students could already be seen working together in groups and on individual projects. The uncertainty of when or if classes would resume caused a certain amount of uneasiness.
“It was very scary,” said Eduarda Siqueira, LaSalle College student, second-year fashion design. “I’m also like an immigrant student so it’s almost like a different thing to be like do I have to go back home, do I have to change schools but now that it’s over it’s like so good.”
“I was always having in the back of my mind like I’m a young teacher, you know what like if that if it closed I’ll find something else,” said Guillaume Girard, a LaSalle College teacher in fashion design and fashion marketing. “I was thinking a lot of my colleagues that are at the end of their career and a few years left I was like oh this is going to be hard for them as well. So we tried to reach out a lot and talk to each other and I think this was a big sense of solidarity that we saw going on in the back end.”
The ruling means the college will once again receive the government subsidies needed to continue running its programs. The funding is worth roughly $28 million.
The Quebec Ministry of Higher Education told CityNews in a statement:
“The Department takes note of the Court’s decision. Now, we must respect the established judicial framework and let the process take its course. The government is contributing in good faith and continuing the discussions.”
About 3,000 students and 421 faculty members had been left waiting for the fall semester to begin after classes were suspended on Aug. 27. The disruption came after the college was given a $30 million penalty for going over Quebec’s limit on English-language enrolment. The government then stopped the annual subsidies that help fund the school’s programs.
“My preference is to settle that with our premier madame Fréchette,” said Claude Marchand, general director of LaSalle College. “It’s their government that started all of this five years ago. I think it’s their responsibility to settle it but we will have elections on October 5th so if that matter is not settled by then we’ll see who’s at the government after and we’ll be there at the table to collaborate with the new government.”
Students, teachers and union representatives had been pressuring the Quebec government to step in and prevent the college from closing.
“I’m incredibly happy to be here and I’m incredibly happy to keep meeting students I haven’t seen all summer,” said Camille Dorvilier-Schell, a third-year fashion design student at LaSalle College. “It’s wonderful, all of my colleagues and I are super excited to be back in school and our teachers as well. I mean we’re starting projects right now so it’s a fast-moving pace today but we’re all really happy about it.”
“It was a bit stressful but now we’re back so it’s pretty exciting, even more exciting than it was to start like a week ago,” said Luca Blondeau, a LaSalle College first-year fashion marketing student. “So I mean it’s like it was a lot of anticipation and now we’re finally back so it’s fun to be here.”
Supporters gathered outside the Montreal courthouse Thursday while the case was being heard. The court’s decision was met with excitement and relief among students, many of whom are now looking forward to finally starting their semester.
However, the dispute is not over. LaSalle College still has to deal with the $30 million penalty and says it intends to negotiate with the Quebec government in hopes of reaching a solution.
The Ministry of Justice told CityNews that out of respect for the judicial process, they will not comment.
