A timeline of Quebec's tuition battle
Mcgill, Concordia were blindsided by scheme, according to lawsuits
Mcgill and Concordia universities said they were shocked in October when Higher Education Minister Pascale Déry announced major tuition changes directly targeting the English institutions' finances, enrolment and reputations.
The reasons for their alarm and dismay were laid bare on Friday when the two universities filed separate lawsuits, describing what went on behind the scenes before Déry and French Language Minister Jean-françois Roberge announced the tuition reform.
Until a few days before that news conference, Mcgill and Concordia were oblivious.
They had no inkling of the Legault government's plans to impose a big tuition hike on outof-province students attending English universities, scaring off potential enrollees; and change the funding formula for international students, depriving the universities of cash.
After a series of meetings with Déry over the previous 10 months, the two universities were under the impression no Quebec university would see its funding negatively affected by tuition reform, according to the lawsuits.
Among the details disclosed in their documents:
■ Premier François Legault privately told Mcgill and Concordia they have too many students.
■ Déry floated variations of her plan, finally opting for one the universities say is much worse than the original.
■ Déry suggested Mcgill and Concordia recruit more international students from French-speaking countries.
■ Déry refused to give an extension to a busy advisory committee reviewing her plan and then disregarded its disapproving report because it was four days late.
■ The government never provided studies or data to back up its contentions that non-frenchspeaking students are having an impact on French, or that most non-resident students leave Quebec after graduating.
This timeline is based on Mcgill and Concordia legal documents. The claims have not been tested in court.
Legault's office did not respond to a request for comment Friday. Déry's spokesperson declined to comment because the issue is before the courts.
2023
January: Quebec creates a committee to review university finances. There's no mention of tuition fees for out-of-province or international students.
Feb. 17: At a committee meeting, the Higher Education Ministry says all decisions taken regarding changes to funding formulas will “ensure that no university sees its overall funding be negatively affected.”
April 24: Déry tells Concordia president Graham Carr that most students from outside Quebec studying at English universities leave after graduating. She also suggests English universities favour non-resident students over Quebec ones. Carr explains 66 per cent of Concordia students are from Quebec. Déry does not mention the possibility of changing tuition fees for out-of-province students.
May 12: Déry writes to all Quebec universities seeking suggestions regarding reforming post-secondary education funding. None of the questions focus on out-ofprovince tuition fees. However, one mentions protecting French.
May 15: Déry writes to Quebec's three English universities: Bishop's, Concordia and Mcgill. She is concerned that too many students from outside Quebec leave upon graduation. She's also concerned about the francization of non-resident students who stay in Quebec. Déry says the deregulation of international student fees has primarily benefited English universities and asks for proposed solutions. Since 2019, universities have been allowed to charge any amount to foreign students. Most international students in Quebec attend English universities. French universities take in less from international students due to deals Quebec offers to all students from France and francophone students from Belgium. They pay a fraction of what most foreign students are charged.
June 8: Carr writes to Déry, telling her Concordia international students contribute positively to Quebec; he says the retention rate (54 per cent) is comparable to other universities. Carr outlines Concordia's efforts to help students learn French. Mcgill president Deep Saini also answers Déry. There are no reliable data regarding the retention rate of students from outside Quebec, he says, proposing a study.
June 12: The Comité consultatif sur l'accessibilité financière aux études, an advisory committee Déry must consult on university financing issues, provides suggestions to Déry about university funding reform. None focus on tuition for students from outside Quebec.
June 20: Mcgill tells Déry post-secondary funding is inadequate. It wants to help improve the retention rates of non-resident students, but recommends keeping the international tuition structure as it is.
June 27: Concordia tells Déry it's committed to promoting French based on incentivizing French-language learning rather than mandating it. Déry expresses concern about the deregulation of international student fees. Concordia reminds her it does not “receive grants for these students, that it did not set its international students' fees unduly high, and that French-language universities already received particular, offsetting grants that were not available to Concordia.” Déry does not raise the possibility of tuition changes.
Sept. 19: At a meeting of a government working group on international students, statistics are presented — since deregulation, the proportion of foreign students studying in English universities has declined, to 37 per cent in 2022-23. Four years earlier, it was 43 per cent.
Sept. 28: Between June 27 and Sept. 28, the government and Mcgill meet several times about university funding. The university feels “reassured regarding the vision of the university financing policy.”
Sept. 29: Legault tells a Radio-canada interviewer: “Is it normal that a student from Toronto comes to study in Montreal because it is cheaper, but that a student from Montreal who goes to study in Toronto pays four times more?” Concordia suggests this statement was untrue, citing a May 2023 government report that said Quebec tuition rates for out-of-province students have been above the national average for years. On the same day, Mcgill informs Déry's office about a plan the university is working on — a five-year, $50-million program to teach French to students and faculty. It is to be announced at an Oct. 11 news conference. Déry and other government officials are invited.
Oct. 5: “In contradiction with the exchanges previously held,” the government informs Mcgill of planned changes “likely to weaken (the university's) financial situation,” without explaining further. Mcgill cancels its news conference.
Oct. 10: In a video conference, Déry informs Concordia of major changes. Tuition for out-of-province students will almost double — from just under $9,000 to $17,000 per year. A minimum of $20,000 tuition will be imposed on international students, with an unspecified amount recuperated by the government.
Oct. 12: Quebec publicly outlines its plan for the first time. Roberge tells La Presse the province wants to address a “great imbalance” between English and French universities. After the news breaks, Bishop's, Concordia and Mcgill tell the Gazette the plan would be disastrous. Bishop's says it may not survive.
Oct. 13: Déry and Roberge announce the changes. Quebec wants to boost funding to French universities, cease subsidizing students from outside Quebec, and discourage students who don't speak French from coming to the province. Roberge says too much English is being spoken on Montreal streets, with non-french-speaking university students partly to blame.
Oct. 16: Concordia tells Déry the tuition hike would lead to a drop of up to 90 per cent in enrolment from Canadians outside Quebec over four years, estimating losses at up to $62 million.
Oct. 17: Legault tells reporters the “number of anglophone students from outside Quebec … threatens the survival of the French language.” He says the tuition overhaul is “another move to reduce the number of anglophone students.”
Nov. 6: In a face-to-face meeting, the heads of Bishop's, Concordia and Mcgill say the plan is an existential threat to Bishop's and could cost Concordia and Mcgill more than $100 million per year. They offer to help 40 per cent of non-francophone students in undergraduate programs achieve an intermediate level of French. Legault, for his part, emphasizes “statistics showing a decline in the percentage of Quebecers whose first official language is French, whose language spoken most often in the home is French, and whose language spoken most often at work is French.” The premier says about 25 per cent of university students in Quebec attend English universities, whereas anglophone Quebecers represent around 10 per cent of the population. Referring to the 75,000 students who attend Concordia and Mcgill, Legault said: “C'est beaucoup trop” (that's far too much). Concordia says the “implication was clearly that there were too many students enrolled at Concordia and Mcgill, the assumption being that Concordia and Mcgill's students are all unilingual anglophones contributing to a decline in the use of French in the home and at work in Montreal.”
Nov. 13: The English universities had offered the 40 per cent French target as an alternative to the tuition hike. But in a meeting, Déry tells the three institutions she may maintain the tuition hike and at the same time compel English universities to require 40 per cent of their students to learn French.
Nov. 14: The three universities jointly write Déry, telling her they can't implement francization in addition to the tuition hike. The higher fees would scare off students, depriving the universities of money required to invest in new French efforts, they say.
Nov. 18: Déry presents a different proposal. Under it, English universities would have to teach French to 40 per cent of non-francophone students, with the tuition hike for out-of-province students delayed for two years. Bishop's, Concordia and Mcgill tell her the plan is still unrealistic.
Nov. 19: Déry puts forward another plan. She proposes differentiated tuition rates depending on the program. Out-of-province students in arts and sciences, for example, would pay $12,000, and those in medicine $21,000. “No data was provided to explain the proposed tuition structure, which remained prohibitive, especially in programs such as arts, fine arts and science,” Concordia says.
Nov. 27: In a meeting, Déry offers yet another proposal. Tuition for out-of-province students would be $12,000. In addition, as a condition of funding, by 2025-26, 80 per cent of non-resident students would have to reach an intermediate level of French. Bishop's would get an exemption: up to 825 out-of-province students would pay the old rate, and its funding would not be conditional on French targets. Déry suggests French proficiency targets could be met by recruiting from French-speaking countries. Concordia says this suggestion was “shocking” because it would put Concordia and Mcgill in competition with Quebec's French universities.
Dec. 2: Concordia and Mcgill write Déry, telling her the francization plan is unattainable and that even at $12,000, the proposed new tuition fees would be twice those of comparable programs at the University of Toronto and the University of British Columbia. They never get an answer.
Dec. 9: Bishop's, Concordia and Mcgill propose what they say are more realistic differentiated tuition rates. They also request a delay in any changes to the international funding formula and a 40 per cent French target.
Dec. 14: Déry sends a letter to the English universities at the same time as she posts it on social media. Tuition will be set at $12,000 for out-of-province students, a 33 per cent hike. International rates will be regulated as announced on Oct. 13. As of 2025-26, 80 per cent of non-resident undergraduate students at Concordia and Mcgill will be required to reach an intermediate level of French. Financial penalties will be imposed if the target isn't met. Concordia and Mcgill say the plan is even more harmful than the initial one, calling the French proficiency requirements “utopian.” Bishop's gets its promised partial exemption. Déry asks the accessibility advisory committee for feedback. She gives the committee a Jan. 15 deadline.
2024
Jan. 12: Applications from the rest of Canada have plummeted by 30 per cent at Concordia and 20 per cent at Mcgill, the universities tell the Gazette.
Jan. 15: The advisory committee asks Déry for an extension. Mcgill notes the committee had been given a tight deadline even though it was working on two other briefs for the minister at the time. The committee's work on the complex tuition issue was also hampered by the exam period in CEGEPS and universities as well as the Christmas holiday, Mcgill says. The committee is composed of representatives of French-language universities and CEGEPS and a senior Higher Education Ministry bureaucrat.
Jan. 16: Quebec makes the tuition changes official.
Jan. 18: Déry refuses to give the committee an extension.
Jan. 19: The committee files its report, urging Déry to scrap the tuition hike. It questions how Quebec came up with the $12,000-per-year tuition rate. The increase “seems unjustified and risks compromising access to quality education and depriving society of potential talent,” it finds. The Gazette obtains a copy of the report and asks Déry's office for comment. Her spokesperson says she will not take the advice into account because it was delivered four days late.
Feb. 23: Concordia and Mcgill file lawsuits against the Quebec government in Quebec Superior Court. Among other arguments, the two institutions say the tuition overhaul is illegal, contravening the Canadian and Quebec charters of rights.