Montreal’s Concordia University is warning of “devastating financial implications” if Quebec moves forward with a plan to double tuition for out-of-province students next fall.

University president Graham Carr said in a message to the Concordia community that the new $17,000 tuition for out-of-province Canadian students will price the school out of the domestic market. 

He says the university expects out-of-province undergraduate registration will decline by between 65 and 90 per cent as a result, leading to an annual revenue decline of up to $32 million in four years.

The school’s total annual revenue loss could reach $62 million in four years with the addition of a new government-imposed charge for every international student it recruits.

Carr says a program-by-program analysis is ongoing to measure the full financial impact of the tuition increase.

He adds that the school is making overtures to the provincial government, but says the province has shown no indication it will reverse the measure.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 1, 2023.

The Canadian Press