McGill University announced Tuesday that it will offer a $3,000 annual scholarship to new undergraduate students from other provinces to offset a $3,000 increase in tuition fees imposed by the Quebec government.
The English-speaking University of Montreal says approximately 80% of Canadian undergraduates applying to McGill will qualify for these scholarships, which will be offered starting in the 2024-2025 academic year. A new “Pan-Canadian Scholarship” of $3,000 will be awarded for a maximum of four years of study.
The university is trying to maintain its enrollment in the face of François Legault’s government’s plan to increase tuition fees for out-of-province students.
The Quebec government announced on Oct. 13 that Canadian students who begin English-language studies in Quebec in the fall of 2024 will pay $9,000 per year, equivalent to what they pay the government for their tuition.
The CAQ government wants to slow the anglicization of Montreal and correct the disparity in funding for English-language institutions compared to French-speaking universities. New tuition fees will be reinvested in the French-speaking university network to welcome more French-speaking international students.
But on December 14, Higher Education Minister Pascale Déry reduced the increase from $17,000 to $12,000 for out-of-province students studying in English in Quebec.
The minister requires McGill and Concordia universities that, starting in 2025, 80% of new enrollees in English studies programs reach “level 5” of Quebec-level French proficiency levels orally. , at the end of their first cycle.
McGill’s president and vice-chancellor Deep Saini explained in a press release Tuesday that the University of Montreal’s success rests on its ability to attract talent from Quebec, Canada and around the world. He says the endowment will allow McGill to remain “one of the greatest universities in the world.”
Mr. Saini says, but welcoming students from across Canada is part of McGill’s DNA.
Scholarships are awarded to Canadian students in arts, agriculture and environmental sciences, music, educational sciences, architecture, nursing and most science programs.
“We are doing everything we can to make McGill and Montreal degrees accessible to students across Canada,” said Fabrice Labeau, McGill’s first vice-chancellor for studies and student life.
In Minister Déry’s office, a spokesperson indicated on Tuesday that McGill “is free to award scholarships to its students from its funds.”
“That being said, the Minister wishes to count on their cooperation to implement the announced measures,” wrote Valery Samula, Chief of Staff to the Minister of Higher Education.
