Quebec's tuition hike triggers financial strain for English universities as enrolment drops

Quebec's English universities are experiencing significant drops in out-of-province and international enrolment, leading to financial strain that school officials attribute to province's tuition hikes.

Initially, Quebec planned to charge new out-of-province Canadian students $17,000 but settled on $12,000 by mid-December, still a $3,000 increase.

While the hike was reduced, the damage was already done as potential students set their sights elsewhere, according to Graham Carr, president and vice-chancellor of Concordia University. 

"Unfortunately, as we forecast, we're feeling it in terms of new registrations for the year ahead," he told CBC Montreal's Let's Go on Monday. 

Concordia launched a scholarship program for potential students with strong academic performance in high school, offering up to $4,000, but that program didn't get off the ground until Quebec established its tuition structure, Carr explained.

"It was never meant to be a magic solution, but I hope that it did help to persuade some students," he said. 

Concordia is seeing a 28 per cent decline in new registrations from out-of-province Canadian students. That's about 280 fewer students than previous years. There has also been an 11 per cent decline in international undergraduate students. Carr said that is probably related to confusion around Quebec government policy, and confusion around Canadian immigration policies. 

Last year, Canada announced international students will see their minimum tuition fees set to roughly $20,000 and they will need to have double the amount of funds currently required. That's up to $20,635 instead of the $10,000 requirement that has been in place for two decades.

The Liberal government has also announced plans to scale back the time international students can work in Canada without an employment visa.

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Along with the tuition hike, Quebec's three English-language universities — McGill, Concordia and Bishop's — will have to ensure that 80 per cent of their out-of-province and international students learn French. Those students will need to demonstrate a Level 5 oral proficiency — essentially the ability to hold a conversation — by the end of their undergraduate studies.

The French-language requirement comes into effect for new students as of the 2025-26 academic year. 

Concordia is forecasting the decline in new student enrolment to cost about $15 million annually over the next three years, and already the school is dealing with a $34.5 million deficit, Carr said. The school is going to have to tighten its belt in the coming years. Already there's a freeze on new hires, contracts aren't being renewed and the school is pausing some activities, he said.

Bishop's exemption isn't an inoculation 

Sébastien Lebel-Grenier, principal and vice-chancellor at Bishop's University, said his school is seeing "a lot of instability. We're not exactly sure where we're going to land."

Bishop's is largely exempt from the tuition hike and is allowed to offer the same rate to 825 students, but the Sherbrooke-based school has still seen a 10 per cent drop in out-of-province Canadian students. 

The drop is even steeper for international students, in the 30 to 40 per cent range, he said.

"It seems fairly obvious that the announcements by the Quebec government have created a lot of uncertainty and fear in our students. It's had a chilling effect," Lebel-Grenier said on CBC Montreal's Daybreak on Wednesday. 

"A lot of people are concerned about the type of welcome they will have if they do come to Quebec. Facing uncertainty, they choose to go elsewhere."

For international students, he said both provincial and federal policies have had an impact. It's hard to know exactly where they are going, but anecdotally it appears they are headed to other provinces or are just choosing to go to another country, he said.

The economic impact is significant, with 30 per cent of students typically coming from out of province, and 15 per cent from abroad, he said.

"We're anticipating that we are going to be running a deficit this year. For now, we are anticipating $2.6 million," he said.

Bishop's is a small university with a budget of about $80 million, so the revenue loss equates to roughly three per cent, he said.

"We will have to go into a recovery plan," Lebel-Grenier said, noting such a plan is legally mandated by the Quebec government. "We have to look to the future and make sure we are sustainable."

Schools suing Quebec over tuition hike

The tuition hikes were framed by the provincial government as a measure to protect the French language in Quebec, with the assumption that fewer English-speaking students in Montreal would strengthen the use of French.

Concordia and McGill, Quebec's two largest English-language universities, have both fought the tuition hike since it was announced last year.  The two Montreal universities are suing the Quebec government over the tuition policy, which they say constitutes discrimination under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Concordia's court hearing will take place in December, Carr said. 

A spokesperson for McGill said the institution won't have its final enrolment numbers until October, but the university said last December it was seeing a 20 per cent drop in out-of-province applicants.

Higher Education Minister Pascale Dery told reporters in Quebec City Wednesday that the changes "were difficult decisions, but they were necessary." 

She said she would avoid further comment while the matter is before the courts.