IN THIS ISSUE OF MACLEAN’S
My12th-grader spent last September considering where he might like to attend university. After lots of research, he created a shortlist that included a fine arts program at Concordia University in Montreal.
Then, in mid-october, a shocking announcement came out of Quebec: François Legault’s Coalition Avenir Québec government, in an effort to reduce the number of English speakers in Montreal, declared that tuition for out-of-province university students would almost double, from about $9,000 per year to about $17,000 per year. The change would come into effect in the fall of 2024, just in time for my son to start university.
I did the math and realized that my family’s RESP savings would not cover the new tuition costs. Concordia fell to the bottom of my son’s list of potential schools. Then, in December, after much pushback by university administrators, the Quebec government modified its policy, dropping tuition down to $12,000 per year— which is still meaningfully higher than last year’s rate. Concordia also introduced entrance scholarships for students with top grades to offset the hike. My son decided to apply after all.
But for many families, the damage had been done. Concordia is reporting a 27 per cent drop in out-of-province applications. Mcgill, which experienced the same turmoil, says that applications from students outside Quebec are down 22 per cent compared to last year.
Montreal’s mayor, Valérie Plante, called the hikes an assault on the city’s cosmopolitan spirit. She said that they threaten not only the universities themselves but also Montreal’s international reputation and its economy. She’s absolutely right.
What was behind Legault’s recent spasm of anti-anglo sentiment? The writer Mark Mann had some ideas. Mark is a bilingual journalist who fell in love with Montreal when he was a Concordia student in the early 2000s. He and his wife now live in the Villeray area of Montreal, where their son attends a francophone daycare.
For his cover story, “Quebec’s New French Revolution” (page 30), he researched the history of Quebec’s language wars and dug deep into the census data used to justify the new laws. He also reflected on how Montreal’s bilingualism helped him create the life he loves, and what’s at stake if it disappears.
His story is full of surprises. Mark is sympathetic to the idea of French language preservation but questions some of Legault’s assumptions. Amid a heated debate, Mark’s voice is refreshing and illuminating. I hope you learn as much from his story as I did.
SARAH FULFORD
Editor-in-chief, Maclean’s
“Montreal’s mayor, Valérie Plante, called the tuition hikes an assault on the city’s cosmopolitan spirit”