Quebec is nearly doubling tuition rates for students from other provinces who study in English universities as part of an effort to reduce the amount of English spoken on Montreal streets and increase funding for French-language universities.

With tuition set to rise to about $17,000 per year from the current $8,992, the province says enrolment at three anglophone universities will drop, starting next year.

Via social media, Premier François Legault said the change represents “one more gesture to reverse the decline of French in Quebec.”

The plan, announced Friday by French Language Minister Jean-François Roberge and Higher Education Minister Pascale Déry, is expected to cost Quebec’s three English universities tens of millions of dollars per year.

Bishop’s University, the smallest of the anglophone institutions, has said it would be “very difficult” for the university to survive the loss of almost a third of its students.

“I’m shocked and disappointed,” Concordia University principal Graham Carr said in an interview Friday.

Anglophone universities were never consulted about the drastic changes, he said, and will now be expected to implement a plan for next fall that will devastate their finances.

The government’s decision will also upend the work done for years to turn Montreal into a world-class, affordable university city, he added.

Quebec is not only hiking prices to “make it unaffordable for students coming from elsewhere, but they’re sending out signals, especially in the statements made by (Roberge), that effectively students from the rest of Canada who are not francophone are not particularly welcome,” Carr said.

“That’s a really, devastatingly poor message to be sending after all the work we’ve done to build Montreal’s reputation.”

At a press conference Friday, Roberge said students from outside Quebec typically don’t speak French and most return to their home province after graduating.

The influx of English-speaking students is one of “the reasons for the decline of the French language in Quebec,” he said. “That’s not surprising when tens of thousands of people arrive on the island of Montreal without mastering French. It’s obvious that this can have an anglicizing effect on the metropolis.”

Roberge said Quebec wants 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.”

The tuition hikes, which only affect out-of-province undergraduate and graduate students, will take effect in the fall of 2024. Students already in the system will continue to pay the old rate. The new fee structure will not apply to PhD students and researchers.

Déry said the plan will allow Quebec to inject more money into French-language universities, which will be able to lure more students.

The provincial government currently subsidizes students from the rest of Canada to the tune of about $110 million, she said.

Asked how much other provinces spend to subsidize Quebec students who go to universities outside the province, Déry was unable to answer.

“I’m not saying anglophones are not welcome to Quebec,” she said. “They are welcome and they will keep coming.”

But enrolment will inevitably drop at English universities, Déry said.

“We are increasing the tuition fees so there will be a drop at Concordia, Bishop’s (and) McGill, but obviously this is a choice that we’ve made” in order to boost funding of French universities and to protect French, she said.

University students in Quebec already pay different amounts depending on where they’re from.

Take, for example, a full-time bachelor of arts and science student at McGill University. If they are from Quebec, they pay $5,306 a year in tuition and other fees; $11,417 if they are from another province; and $44,181 if they are a foreign student, the university says.

Quebec also announced changes to the system for international students. As of the fall of 2024, Quebec will take the first $20,000 in tuition that universities charge international students. In the past, universities could keep the entirety of international tuition.

Last month, Concordia and McGill criticized new immigration rules obliging international students to master French, saying it will have a direct impact on their ability to attract and retain the best talent in Quebec.

Carr said the tuition hikes will only hurt Quebec.

“The Quebec economy needs brains, needs talent, to support high-tech industries like AI, cybersecurity, battery development, design. This is a moment when all societies are competing for talent, and here we’ve got a policy that is going to set a barrier to recruiting talent to Quebec.”

It’s too early to quantify, but the changes will cost Concordia “tens and tens and tens of millions of dollars,” Carr said. “Concordia has never been a rich university. We can’t afford a financial hit like that.”

He added: “Minister (Déry) may think students (from outside Quebec) are cash cows. They aren’t and they will not come when the price point reaches a certain level that it’s unaffordable and not competitive with what they can get elsewhere in Canada.”

In a statement, McGill principal Deep Saini said he’s “very disappointed” by the announcement, the repercussions of which the university has not fully analyzed yet.

“A thriving knowledge economy requires a global exchange of talent,” Saini said.

“The measures announced today will have a major, long-term effect on Quebec’s economy. The skilled people we attract and retain contribute significantly to Quebec and provide our businesses with the highly qualified workforce they so urgently need.”

He added: “We need to open our doors and invest more heavily into equipping them to thrive in Quebec society. Quebec boasts 19 excellent universities, each playing a distinct role in meeting the diverse needs of Quebecers.”

Universities Canada, an association that encompasses all Quebec universities, said it’s “working on understanding the implications of this policy announcement,” a spokesperson said.

It’s unclear whether universities in the rest of Canada will follow Quebec’s lead and hike fees for Quebec students who study in other provinces. A spokesperson for Ontario’s minister of colleges and universities said the provincial government “has not made any decisions related to the 2024 tuition fee framework.”

The office of Eric Girard, Quebec’s minister responsible for relations with English-speaking Quebecers, said he had nothing to say about the tuition plan or anglophone community concerns about the future of the universities.

“The minister will not comment at this time,” said Claudia Loupret, Girard’s spokesperson. “He will first meet with the universities.”

Liberal MNA Greg Kelley, the opposition critic for anglophone issues, said Quebec’s plan is misguided. He said it will cut the flow of talent to Quebec and “diminish” English universities, with Bishop’s particularly vulnerable.

“I’m worried. Will this have consequences on research and development grants? What will the consequences be for some of the brilliant people coming here to Montreal to share their knowledge?”

Kelley said the changes came out of nowhere, with no consultation. That’s proof the plan is “purely political” — a reaction to the Coalition Avenir Québec’s loss in a by-election in Quebec City last week, he added.

“They’re trying to drum up another fight with the English-speaking community and it’s just quite frustrating.”

The Canadian Party of Quebec, a provincial party, said Quebec will “drive away talent and investment” and penalize English-language institutions.

“This shameful move targets people who Quebec society needs the most: highly educated newcomers who spend, live and often stay after their studies,” said party leader Colin Standish. “The CAQ government is literally proposing to throw away billions of dollars that these individuals inject into the economy.

“As a Quebecer, I paid the same as all other Canadians when I attended university in Ontario. What is the purpose of this measure except to reduce the size of English-language institutions, create disincentives to talented newcomers, and rob our economy of new human and financial inputs?”

Mayor Valérie Plante often boasts about Montreal’s status as a university city with multiple post-secondary institutions. Her spokesperson said the mayor had no comment on the possible impact of the tuition announcement.

Quebec’s English-language universities

Bishop’s: 2,650 students. 55% from Quebec, 30% from other provinces, 15% international.

Concordia: 46,000 students. 69% from Quebec, 9% from other provinces, 22% international.

McGill: 39,500 students. 50% from Quebec, 20% from other provinces, 30% international.