Quebec keeps 33% tuition hike for out‑of‑province students after court ruling

 Quebec keeps 33% tuition hike for out‑of‑province students after court ruling

The province will not go back to court to seek approval of the rewritten rules, a Higher Education Ministry spokesperson said.
Author of the article:By Andy Riga
Published Feb 02, 2026Last updated 16 hours ago
3 minute read
McGill (above) and Concordia have cited the tuition increase for non-Quebec students, which caused a drop in out-of-province applications, as a key reason why they have been compelled to make deep budget cuts. Photo by John Mahoney /Montreal Gazette

Quebec is keeping a 33 per cent tuition increase for non‑francophone students from outside the province, saying its revised university funding policy complies with a Quebec Superior Court ruling that found the hike “unreasonable.”

In the April 2025 ruling, Justice Éric Dufour invalidated the hike as drafted but gave the province nine months to update its framework.

In an updated policy published late last month, the province explained the rationale behind the tuition increase, which mainly affected Concordia and McGill, both of which are English universities.

The document now “specifies that the tuition increase aims to prevent Quebec taxpayers from having to largely subsidize the studies of Canadian students who are not recognized as Quebec residents,” Higher Education Ministry spokesperson Bryan St-Louis told The Gazette on Monday.

A preferential tuition rate continues to be available to out-of-province students who choose to pursue their university studies in French, “with the goal of positioning Quebec as a leading francophone destination,” St-Louis said.

In 2024, Quebec hiked tuition for new out-of-province students studying in English by 33 per cent — making it about $12,000, up from $9,000. The Legault government said the increase was meant to protect the French language and curb the number of non-French-speaking students in the province.

McGill and Concordia sued the Quebec government, arguing that the hike was unreasonable and discriminatory. They have cited the tuition changes, which caused a drop in out-of-province applications, as a key reason why they have been compelled to make deep budget cuts.

In his judgment, Dufour criticized the arguments advanced by former higher education minister Pascale Déry, echoing the universities’ contention that the plan was put forward without sufficient evidence.
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The judge also ordered the province to immediately scrap its plan to impose French proficiency requirements for non-Quebec applicants. At the time, Déry’s spokesperson said the province would “be pursuing discussions” on the issue of knowledge of French for students from outside Quebec.

When the judgment was handed down, Concordia University president Graham Carr said he hoped the court ruling would be a wake-up call for Quebec to work with English universities.

However, Quebec said it would maintain the tuition hike, without providing details on how it would proceed.

St-Louis, the ministry spokesperson, said on Monday that Quebec will not go back to court to seek approval of the rewritten rules. He said the province is not obliged to “present the budgetary rules in their modified version to a court following the judicial decision.”

Concordia spokesperson Vannina Maestracci said the university is “disappointed but not surprised” by the government’s stance.

“We regret that despite facts, figures, the opinion of a (government-mandated) specialized committee on the issue and a ruling by the Quebec Superior Court, the government is sticking with a measure that harms the competitiveness of all Quebec universities.”

She said Concordia is scheduled to meet soon with Higher Education Minister Martine Biron, at which time the university will raise “this and other measures that continue to damage the province’s reputation as a university destination.”

McGill declined a request for comment.

Many Quebec students study in other provinces. For example, in 2024, about 6,400 Quebec students were in Ontario universities — roughly the same number going in the other direction, according to an analysis by Higher Education Strategy Associates.

With some exceptions, Quebec students studying in the rest of Canada pay the same amount as locals.

In 2023, McGill noted that the planned $12,000 rate for out-of-province students would price Quebec out of the market in the arts and sciences programs that welcome most students from elsewhere in Canada.

“Put yourself in the shoes of a student from the rest of Canada — ($12,000) is still double what you’re going to pay at the University of Toronto or the University of British Columbia,” a McGill official said at the time.

Concordia spent $780,000 on legal fees to fight Quebec’s tuition overhaul, according to information obtained by The Gazette last year via an access-to-information request.

McGill refused to disclose the cost of its legal fight. The Gazette has asked Quebec’s access-to-information commission to review the university’s decision.

The Coalition Avenir Québec government has drafted a Quebec constitution that would bar public institutions such as universities from suing the province using taxpayer dollars.

The Bureau de coopération interuniversitaire, which represents all Quebec universities, says the proposal would curb academic freedom and punish administrators who authorize legal challenges using public funds, exposing them to personal financial liability.