MONTREAL — “Catastrophic.” “Disastrous.” “A direct attack.” Such was the language McGill University president Deep Saini used during a press conference Thursday to describe the Quebec government’s tuition plan for Montreal’s two English-language universities. He didn’t close the door on opening a branch campus outside the province.

Here’s what you need to know:

How we got here: Earlier in the day, Quebec’s higher education minister, Pascale Déry announced that out-of-province students will pay $12,000 in tuition to go to McGill or Concordia, ostensibly to curb “anglicization” in the province. While it’s less than the $17,000 the government initially proposed, the province will require 80 per cent of those students to attain intermediate French proficiency before graduating. Saini denounced the plan as “incoherent policy based on impressions and emotions.” 

Heavy burden: The government’s French learning plan would require incoming students to take on an extra semester, said McGill vice-provost Fabrice Lebeau—an objective he called “totally unrealistic, both technically and academically.” Saini added, “You put a full semester of French courses in an engineering program, you lose your accreditation and we no longer have an engineering program.” He said Déry sent him a letter threatening financial penalties should the university fail to meet the language requirements.  

The cost of uncertainty: Out-of-province Canadian applications have decreased by 20 per cent compared to last year as a result of the government’s plans to hike tuition, and a decrease in international student population is a near-certainty, Lebeau said. “This will deprive Quebec of a vast pool of qualified workers for years, at a time when the province is facing a significant labor shortage.” The plan will potentially hurt the city, Lebeau added. He cited a 2022 study showing the 50,000 international students who came to the city spent $722 million in 2019 and 2020.

Any means: “We will take all measures and all means necessary so that McGill continues to protect its reputation for excellence and fulfill its mission to students in Quebec and around the world,” Saini said. When asked if the school was considering a branch campus outside the province, Saini responded, “We are looking at all options possible to McGill. And I won’t discount any options at this point.” Former justice minister David Lametti recently told The Logic the federal government “has an obligation” to aid McGill and Concordia should the tuition hikes undermine their finances. Saini wouldn’t comment on whether McGill has reached out to the feds, or what legal routes it might take. “We have just received the minister’s letter and we are studying the consequences and details, and we are going to come out with the measures that we are going to take,” he said.