$42K a year: Out-of-province medical students at McGill could pay double in 2024

Next year, McGill University’s first year medical students from outside the province could pay more than $42,000 for a single year’s tuition thanks to new changes made by the Quebec government. The province announced on Oct. 13 that all out-of-province students would have tuition fees doubled at Quebec’s three English-language universities. The tuition hike would apply to out-of-province students entering undergraduate programs and non-research or professional master’s programs in 2024. This includes students in McGill University’s undergraduate medical program, as well as the school’s occupational therapist, physiotherapist and nursing programs. International students would also see their tuitions rise, with a base tuition of $20,000 a year. Postgraduate medical students and students enrolled in PhD programs would not have to pay extra tuition, said Bryan St-Louis, the minister of education’s media spokesperson in an email to the Medical Post. The extra fees would be returned to the government of Quebec and reallocated to the province’s francophone universities, minister of higher education Pascale Déry announced at the Oct. 13 press conference. At least $20,000 from each international student would also go to the government. Previously, the universities would keep the tuition from international students, reported Radio-Canada. “These measures, if implemented, would have serious consequences,” wrote Deep Saini, McGill University’s principal and vice-chancellor in a letter to the school community. He noted that 20% of McGill’s student population are from other provinces and 30% are international students. “We will engage government and partners to address these proposals, seeking ways to strengthen all universities for the good of Quebec,” he wrote. Students already enrolled in Quebec’s English-language universities would have five years to complete their programs under the lower tuition fees. Quebec premier Francois Legault said the change represents “one more gesture to reverse the decline of French in Quebec,” in a post on X, formally known as Twitter. “We want to rebalance our university network, we want to rebalance our language policies here in Montreal. By attracting more francophone students to francophone universities, it’s a way to rebalance it,” said French language minister Jean-François Roberge at the Oct. 13 press conference. He said that the influx of anglophone students contributes to the anglicization of Montreal, Radio-Canada reported. The measures will help increase the number of francophone students in Quebec, he said. “I don’t think I’m penalizing anyone,” Déry said, noting that the province pays $110 million a year to educate out-of-province students who don’t stay in Québec. Déry was unable to provide statistics about the number of students who stay in Québec after studying at an English-language university, according to Radio-Canada. Read: 'You're on your own': Quebec parents grapple with lack of pediatrician follow-up Currently, first year medical students at McGill University pay $21,748.57 a year in tuition. If doubled, tuition would be more than $42,000 a year for out-of-province students. In 2023, there were 218 students admitted to first year, 15 of whom were from outside the province. Of the medical students starting at McGill University in 2023, 39% had French as their mother tongue, 39% had English as their mother tongue, and 22% had another language as their mother tongue. Quebec’s three anglophone universities, which include Concordia University in Montreal and Bishop’s University in Lennoxville, were not consulted on the new fees. The announcement came one day after Maclean’s University ranked McGill University as Canada’s top university in the medical and doctorate category. Bishops University was fourth in the primarily undergraduate category and Concordia University ranked ninth in the comprehensive category. “We are concerned that, in the government’s announcement, prospective students from outside Quebec may hear the message that they are not welcome—despite Montreal’s reputation as a global education destination, and the extraordinary contributions of students and alumni within Quebec,” Saini wrote. Quebec also has medical schools at Université de Montréal, Laval University and Université de Sherbrooke. In July, health minister Christian Dubé announced 404 new medical school spots over the next three years. Read: A five-part plan: What the health ministers decided at their P.E.I. meetings A previous version of this article said Bishop's University is in Shawville. In fact, it is in Lennoxville.

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