McGill University campus in November, 2017. Quebec reached a deal with English-language universities that commits them to ensuring 60 per cent of students outside Quebec graduate with a functional level of French.Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press
Quebec’s three English-language universities have reached an agreement with the provincial government that will end a dispute over language requirements for out-of-province students.
According to the eight-year deal announced Tuesday, the Quebec government will provide up to $20-million annually to McGill, Concordia and Bishop’s universities to boost the French proficiency of students from outside Quebec.
The universities, in turn, will have to ensure that 60 per cent of those students graduate with a functional level of French.
The agreement closes a years-long chapter of hostilities between the universities and the government. In 2023, Quebec announced measures intended to reduce the number of anglophone students in the province, including a tuition hike for non-Quebeckers, which McGill and Concordia fought in court.
“In Quebec, we are a tiny drop of francophone water surrounded by an ocean of anglophones,” said Higher Education Minister Martine Biron at a news conference in Montreal. “This new partnership demonstrates the universities’ desire to help protect the French language and keep it alive and thriving.”
In an interview with The Globe and Mail, McGill president and vice-chancellor Deep Saini said the government’s attitude toward anglophone universities has improved recently. He pointed to the fact that Quebec has had a new premier in place since April, when Christine Fréchette won a leadership race to replace former premier François Legault.
“The language that’s being used is much more friendly now than it was a year ago,” he said.
Still, meeting the 60-per-cent target will present a challenge for the schools, which will face penalties if they fall short of the threshold. Concordia president and vice-chancellor Graham Carr told reporters his university is currently not close to meeting the mark.
“Sixty per cent is an ambitious target, but it’s something we’re comfortable with,” he said.
Mr. Carr stressed that the French proficiency program will be voluntary and is “not a barrier to entry” for any student. “Their graduation does not depend on their ability to demonstrate that they have reached this level,” he said.
Students will have different options to improve their French skills, including through language classes and immersion opportunities. Mr. Saini said McGill students will have to indicate whether they’re interested in the program once they begin their studies and will take tests at the beginning and end of their degree to evaluate their progress. He added that students will receive incentives, including tuition exemptions, for participating.
“Some students may be discouraged, but others may actually be attracted by all of this,” Mr. Saini said.
The schools will face pressure to hit the 60-per-cent target, with results to be measured starting in the 2029-30 academic year. Ms. Biron said $1,500 for each student below the threshold will be subtracted from the annual funding provided to McGill and Concordia. Bishop’s is exempt from penalties.
The new rule is less stringent than what the Quebec government announced in 2023, when it said 80 per cent of out-of-province undergraduate students at English-language universities would have to reach an intermediate level of French by the time they graduated. The level of fluency has also been relaxed slightly.
At the time, the government also declared it would hike tuition for out-of-province students by 33 per cent, arguing it was necessary to protect the French language in the province.
McGill and Concordia challenged the new rules in court and won a partial victory last year. A Quebec Superior Court judge ruled the tuition hike was not justified and that there was an “almost certain impossibility” that the schools would be able to meet the 80-per-cent target.
Despite the court ruling, Quebec upheld the tuition hike, simply offering a new rationale for the policy. In February, The Globe reported that the two universities had decided they would no longer fight the higher fees.
At the time, Mr. Saini signalled a desire to calm the waters, but on Tuesday, he said he hopes the tuition hike may be lifted in the future. A provincial election is set for October, with the governing Coalition Avenir Québec currently behind in the polls.
“We’ll do what we can to keep promoting the idea that the government needs to rethink what they did on the tuition side,” he said.
Still, the university heads struck a conciliatory tone on Tuesday, saying they understand the need to protect French. “We are closing this chapter on one particular issue,” Mr. Saini said. “We have open channels with the government. I’m very pleased with where we are.”