The university warns new provincial and federal immigration measures and Quebec francization rules could affect student intake next year.
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Despite a drop in applications, McGill University kept enrolment stable this year, admitting more Quebec students and using scholarships to offset controversial tuition hikes for students from other provinces.
“At least for one year, we saved the day,” Philippe Gervais, McGill’s vice president of communications and institutional relations, told The Gazette Tuesday.
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But the future remains uncertain, with clouds on the horizon.
The university says it must scale back the “unsustainable” scholarship program that kept out-of-province students coming — and it warns that new provincial and federal immigration measures and Quebec francization rules could also affect student intake.
The university received 37,568 applications this year, an eight-per-cent drop compared with the previous year, according to statistics provided to The Gazette. Fewer out-of-province and international students applied.
But the number of students admitted — 7,180 — represented a seven-per-cent increase.
“We were lucky enough to still have a fantastic pool of students to be able to offer places to and we still had a good pick up on those offers,” Gervais said.
The biggest jump in admissions — eight per cent — was among Quebec students. They now represent 53 per cent of undergraduate students, up from 51 per cent two years ago.
Quebec has mandated McGill to ensure 55 per cent of undergraduate and master’s students be from the province by 2026-27.
Last year, the Legault government increased annual tuition for students from other provinces by $3,000, to $12,000. It was part of an effort to boost funding to French universities and reduce the number of non-French-speaking students.
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English universities said the move made them less competitive with schools in other provinces, deterring students from the rest of Canada.
In response to the hike, McGill introduced the Canada Award, a $3,000-per-year scholarship to offset the tuition.
The award helped. McGill saw a seven-per-cent increase in out-of-province admissions this year.
The 1,300 students who received the award in 2024-25 will continue to get $3,000 annually for their four-year degrees.
Alumni donated almost $16 million to pay for the awards but the university said extending the program to future students is “unsustainable.” McGill is projecting an operational deficit of $12 million this year.
Starting next year, the Canada Award will be “needs-based and merit-based” and will only cover the $3,000 difference in tuition for the first year of study.
The university said it does not know “how this will affect applications and admissions from that group of students next year, but it adds an element of uncertainty.”
In addition, “the impacts of the different immigration measures recently announced by both the governments of Canada and Quebec and the francization measures anticipated for 2025-26 are not known.”
The provincial government has announced francization rules for English universities. It wants 80 per cent of undergraduate students from outside Quebec to attain an intermediate level of French.
Universities will face financial penalties if the target isn’t met.
McGill’s overall student population rose slightly in 2024. It’s now 39,920, up from 39,380 last year.
Quebecers make up 48.5 per cent of students, while those from the rest of Canada represent 22.6 per cent and international students 28.9 per cent.
As part of its reforms, Quebec also revised the funding formula for international students, resulting in a loss of $5,000 in revenue per foreign student for anglophone universities.
Bishop’s and Concordia, Quebec’s two other English universities, say tuition reforms, combined with the CAQ’s unwelcoming attitude toward non-Quebec students, scared off potential recruits this year.
Concordia saw a 27-per-cent drop in new students from the rest of Canada and a 14-per-cent decrease from other countries. Bishop’s accepted 10 per cent fewer out-of-province students and 43 per cent fewer foreign students.
The federal government’s more recent decision to reduce the number of international students in Canada also had an effect. The revenue loss from the tuition and immigration shifts is resulting in significant budget cuts, the universities say.
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