Francisation des universités anglophones, une entente qui fait encore débat

After a deal struck in June with the Quebec government, the province’s three English-language universities — McGill, Concordia and Bishop’s — are preparing for the task of making their incoming students more fluent in French. 

Under the agreement announced June 16, the provincial government will provide $20 million a year, divided among the three universities, to help their international and out-of-province undergrads acquire French-language skills. 

By the time they graduate, 60 per cent of those students will be expected to demonstrate general comprehension of short conversations that deal with common activities or situations (level four out of 12 on the Quebec Scale of French Proficiency Levels).  

The incoming fall 2026 students are the first to be subject to the language target, and assessments will begin in 2029–30. If McGill or Concordia fails to meet the target, the respective university will be docked $1,500 for each student short of 60 per cent. Bishop’s is exempt from financial penalties. 

A realistic goal? 

Despite the ambitious goal, participation in French-language learning programs will not be mandatory for students, raising questions about whether the 60 per cent target can be achieved. Graham Carr, president and vice-chancellor of Concordia University, believes it can, noting that students from outside Quebec who already speak French count toward the target. French nationals, for example, make up Concordia’s third-largest international student group.  

“Many Canadian students from outside Quebec have already gone through French immersion programs, so they’re not starting from scratch,” he added. “And those who hope to stay in Quebec after graduating know they’ll have to learn French.” 

Strengthening French on an English campus 

Natallia Liakina, associate provost, Rayonnement du français, at McGill University, said the agreement “will help us continue strengthening the presence of French on campus.” 

She argues that Quebec’s linguistic and cultural duality is one of the factors that attracts students from outside the province, and McGill offers the opportunity to study in English while still gaining meaningful exposure to French.  

The university has recently expanded its French communication courses and introduced a new stream focused on learning French for the workplace. It also offers summer immersion scholarships in Quebec City. 

“Language learning happens well beyond the classroom and benefits enormously from spending time in a genuinely francophone environment,” Ms. Liakina notes. 

Two years of conflict 

This agreement marks the latest chapter in a dispute that began more than two years ago. In October 2023, Pascale Déry, then minister of higher education, raised out-of-province tuition at English language universities in Quebec from $9,000 to $17,000 and required the institutions to ensure that 80 per cent of students learned French. 

Meanwhile, the universities proposed a target that would see 40 per cent of undergrads reach an intermediate level of French proficiency. 

In December 2023, the Quebec government scaled back the tuition fee to $12,000. The new fee took effect in fall 2024, prompting all three English-language universities to challenge the policy in court. In April 2025, the Quebec Superior Court ruled that the government had failed to justify the magnitude of the tuition hike and found the 80 per cent French-learning target to be unrealistic.  

Although the government kept the tuition hike in place, negotiations with the universities continued, ultimately producing the $20‑million agreement. 

“No one in Quebec’s universities is going to object to a program that strengthens the future of French on our campuses,” says Christian Blanchette, president of the Bureau de coopération interuniversitaire. He believes the funding will help the institutions deliver on their commitments to French language learning. 

Martin Maltais, a professor specializing in education funding and policy at the Université du Québec à Rimouski, believes that while the agreement may reduce the risks of anglicization in Montreal, it doesn’t constitute a real strategy for strengthening the French language. 

He finds it strange that native francophones students should count toward the 60 per cent target. In addition, he notes there are several programs at French-language universities which require graduates to attain a certain level of English proficiency, yet don’t receive additional government funding to that end. “Shouldn’t English-language universities themselves be responsible for ensuring that their students acquire a certain level of French?” he asks. 

One thing has not changed: the additional $3,000 in tuition charged to out-of-province students attending Quebec’s English-language universities remains in place.