Mcgill, Concordia file lawsuits over Quebec tuition hikes
Schools say rules constitute discrimination
MONTREAL • Concordia and Mcgill universities are suing the Quebec government, asking the courts to cancel tuition hikes for outof-province students that are expected to devastate the schools’ finances.
In what Concordia describes as a “complementary and co-ordinated approach,” the two institutions filed separate lawsuits against the government’s decision, which they say constitutes discrimination under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and damages the schools’ reputations.
Tuition is set to rise to roughly $12,000 from about $9,000 for out-of-province students next fall, except for Quebec’s only other English university — Bishop’s — which was exempted because it is outside Montreal.
The Quebec government has defended the tuition hikes, saying that they were imposed, in part, because there are too many people who speak English in Montreal.
Mcgill is asking the Quebec Superior Court to suspend the tuition hikes — which affect out-of-province and international students — pending the outcome of its lawsuit.
“The policies introduced by the government were deliberately designed to inflict harm on anglophone universities,” Concordia president Graham Carr said in an interview.
Premier François Legault’s government “had responsibilities to us under the law, particularly as anglophone educational institutions and those responsibilities were not respected.”
Mcgill president Deep Saini said the changes “are illegal and if upheld, will threaten Mcgill’s mission, its place as one of the world’s top universities and its vital role in Quebec.
“In addition to the financial impacts these measures will have on Mcgill, we are hearing from our recruiters that these measures are making students think twice about coming to Quebec,” he said in a statement.
“I find this particularly distressing, considering how warm and hospitable I have found Quebecers to be, and how much employers want and need these highly talented young people.”
In an email to the Concordia community, Carr said Quebec is legally obliged under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to consider “equality among francophone and anglophone linguistic groups and the protection of Quebec’s minority English-language community.”
“We contend that, in addition to weighing and taking into account those values, the government had a responsibility to ensure that its policies did not harm our institution,” he said.
Higher Education Minister Pascale Déry has said the tuition overhaul will help boost funding for French universities and reduce the number of non-frenchspeakers in Montreal’s post-secondary institutions.
French Language Minister Jean-françois Roberge has said too much English is being spoken on the streets of Montreal, with non-frenchspeaking university students partly to blame.
Starting in the fall, tuition for students from the rest of Canada who study at Concordia and Mcgill will increase by 33 per cent, to $12,000 per year. Quebec is also clawing back about $5,000 from every international student who studies in Quebec; previously this money stayed at the university where the international student studied.
Carr said the changes “could have a significant and harmful impact on Concordia’s student enrolment, financial well-being and international reputation. Members of the government publicly admitted as much on several occasions.”
At Concordia, applications from Canadian students outside Quebec are down 27 per cent, with international applications down 10 per cent. Concordia, which was already suffering from a large deficit, has previously said the tuition changes could have dire financial consequences, costing it up to $62 million per year.
Mcgill says it has seen a 20 per cent decline in undergraduate applications from out-of-province students and a drop of more than five per cent for international students. It has warned the tuition changes could cost it up to $94 million annually and lead to 700 job cuts.
Both Carr and Saini said they have tried in vain since the fall to find a compromise with the CAQ government but were left with no choice after their recommendations were ignored.
“We would have greatly preferred not to do this, but we have run out of viable alternatives,” Saini said.
“Again and again, we proposed realistic, concrete solutions that would allow us to continue to attract top talent to address Quebec’s labour needs and strengthen Quebec’s knowledge, competitiveness and innovation agenda.”
Saini said English universities “have repeatedly and unsuccessfully requested data demonstrating the feasibility and necessity of these government measures.”
He noted the government’s own advisory committee on accessibility said the tuition overhaul risks compromising access to quality education and depriving Quebec society of potential talent.
That committee urged the government to reconsider the decision.
The lawsuits do not challenge Quebec’s new French proficiency requirements for university students from outside the province. As of fall 2025, 80 per cent of students from outside Quebec will have to reach an intermediate level of French by the time they graduate.