Quebec confirmed Friday that starting in fall 2024, the tuition policy will be less generous for new non-Quebec students studying here at an English-speaking university.
The measure will affect new international students and students from other provinces who come to study at an English-speaking university in Quebec, at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Thus, Canadian students will pay the equivalent of what their training costs the Quebec government, i.e. $17,000 rather than $8,992.
This is a “floor” rate, said the Minister of Higher Education, Pascale Déry, at a press conference in Montreal, since universities retain the right to charge “discretionary amounts”.
International students will pay $20,000.
The measure affects new students only. The minister specified that those who have already started their university training here will be able to continue to benefit from preferential rates.
“Today, the government of Quebec is sending a clear signal: not only are we putting an end to a policy that subsidized students who do not stay here at a loss, but we are stopping the decline of French in Montreal,” summarized the minister. Déry.
The majority of these students leave Quebec after their studies, after having benefited from much lower tuition fees than in other provinces or countries, underlined the Minister of Higher Education.
With the money thus recovered, Quebec wishes to reinvest in the French-speaking university network, welcome more French-speaking international students, and offer exemptions for certain special cases. He also plans to recover $100 million in this way.
“We must not put on rose-colored glasses: in Montreal, there are more and more Canadian and international students and the majority of them attend our English-speaking universities, English-speaking programs. Currently, these universities receive funds to welcome thousands of Canadian students from outside Quebec each year, who do not necessarily have knowledge of French. And, in government, we think that we need to change the situation and we have the courage to do it,” said the Minister responsible for the French Language, Jean-François Roberge, alongside his colleague Déry.
Minister Roberge wanted to point out that the historic English-speaking community of Quebec would not be affected by this measure. It will continue to benefit from much lower tuition fees than in other provinces.
Exemptions to this measure are provided for students from France and Belgium who have already signed special agreements with Quebec.
Likewise, the third university cycle is not affected, nor the second cycle research component.
Invited to comment by email, McGill University had not yet responded at the time of writing.