(Quebec) The Legault government confirms the increase in tuition fees for students from other Canadian provinces and makes part of the funding of McGill and Concordia universities conditional on 80% of their non-Quebec students becoming French.
Posted at 9:34 am
In a letter to the rectors of Quebec's three English-speaking universities, Higher Education Minister Pascale Déry officially announced that tuition fees for students from other Canadian provinces will increase from $9,000 to $12,000 per year. She had originally suggested the bill reach $17,000.
The new pricing for international students is progressing as planned. A minimum rate of $20,000 is set for these students, of which the government receives $3,000.
The funds raised through these two measures will be used to increase funding for French-speaking universities.
“As the demographic and linguistic situation in the Estrie region differs from that in the Greater Montreal area,” Bishop's University will continue to be able to accept a fixed number of students from other provinces at the current price of $9,000, for a total of 825 “tariff exclusions in the long term to improve”.
From 2024 to 2025, Quebec wants English-speaking universities to “begin their efforts to develop French proficiency and amend their language policies to clearly reflect their commitment in this regard.”
Quebec requires them to require that by 2025 to 2026, “80% of new non-Quebecer students in an English-language study program reach level 5 orally on the Quebec scale of French proficiency by the end of their bachelor's degree program.”
The government will “support the achievement of these goals through the funding policy” of universities. “However, part of the funding for non-Quebec students will be contingent on the assessment and development of French language skills by the institutions.”
Bishop's University also needs to Frenchize 80% of its non-Quebec students, but unlike McGill and Concordia, “its funding will not be conditioned on achieving this goal.”