The Quebec government raised tuition rates for out-of-province and international students beginning in 2024.Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press
Quebec’s two major English-language universities will no longer fight a tuition hike for out-of-province students intended to reduce the number of anglophones in Montreal, putting an end to a years-long dispute.
McGill and Concordia say they will not pursue further litigation against the Quebec government, despite a court ruling last year that found the policy was not justified.
McGill says Quebec has not respected that court decision, but it is nonetheless laying down its arms as it looks to reset a combative relationship with the provincial government.
Quebec first announced in late 2023 that it would raise tuition by 33 per cent for Canadian students from outside the province who attend anglophone universities, framing it as a bid to protect the French language.
McGill and Concordia fought the measure in court and won a partial victory last April. But the government has not backed down on the higher fees, and the universities now seem to be cutting their losses.
“Further litigation would undermine [McGill’s] objectives of strengthening local engagement and advancing partnerships that contribute to the vitality of the Quebec society,” spokesperson Katherine Cuplinskas said in a statement provided to The Globe and Mail.
Concordia spokesperson Vannina Maestracci said the university will not return to court due to its financial situation. The school has announced cost-saving measures to reduce a projected $84-million deficit in 2025-26, which is partly due to a drop in international student enrolment.
At an event in Montreal this week, McGill president and vice-chancellor Deep Saini said the government’s measures to cut the number of anglophone students in the province created “a very bad reputation for Quebec,” which affected all universities. But he said McGill is still a “close partner” of the provincial government.
“To have a difference of opinion on two things doesn’t mean that 100 other things come to a stop,” he said.
Mr. Saini’s speech at the event, hosted by the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal, stressed the university’s attachment to the city and the province and signalled a desire to calm the waters. McGill is “perfectly integrated into its predominantly French-speaking environment,” he said.
The speech marked a shift in tone for the university, which previously argued in court that the tuition hike discriminated against English speakers. Last April, a Quebec Superior Court judge invalidated the hike, ruling the government lacked data to support the policy.
As of fall 2025, out-of-province students attending French-language universities in Quebec could expect to pay about $9,500 a year. Students at McGill and Concordia could expect to pay about $12,600.Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press
The decision appeared to be a win for McGill and Concordia, but the government soon indicated it would not give up the tuition hike, without explaining how it would conform to the court ruling. The judge ruled the higher fees could remain in place for up to nine months while the province revised its tuition plan.
In January, Quebec released its updated budget plan for universities, which maintained the higher fees but added a written justification for them. It said the tuition hike is meant to prevent Quebec taxpayers from subsidizing a large part of the education of out-of-province students, and linked the policy to protecting the “vitality” of the French language. It also extended an exemption for students at francophone universities to all those who study in French.
Quebec’s Higher Education Ministry said the province was not required to submit its new plan to the court.
In her statement, Ms. Cuplinskas wrote that McGill “does not believe that the Quebec government’s response respects the Superior Court’s April, 2025, ruling,” despite its decision not to fight it. “McGill will continue to work with the Government of Quebec to ensure predictability, stability and transparency in the rules governing higher education,” she said.
Ms. Maestracci said Concordia recently met with Higher Education Minister Martine Biron and hopes to “work productively with the government moving forward.”
As of fall 2025, out-of-province students attending French-language universities in Quebec could expect to pay about $9,500 a year. Students at McGill and Concordia could expect to pay about $12,600.
Both schools offer financial awards to help offset the higher fees. McGill has a $3,000 scholarship for out-of-province students to compensate for the tuition hike for one year, which Ms. Cuplinskas said will continue.