Montreal's Concordia University has disclosed spending $780,000 over two years on legal fees to fight the Quebec government's controversial tuition and funding overhaul that specifically targeted English-language institutions.
Financial Strain and Legal Battle
The substantial outlay was revealed through an access-to-information request and comes at a time when the university faces significant financial challenges. Concordia is currently grappling with a large deficit that has prompted a 7.2-per-cent budget cut this year and plans not to renew limited-term teaching contracts next year.
Concordia spokesperson Vannina Maestracci defended the legal spending, stating: "We felt we had no other choice but to legally challenge the measures and saw it as an investment to preserve Concordia's future as well as a way to fight for our values and what we stand for."
Court Victory Against Government Measures
In 2024, Concordia joined McGill University in suing the Coalition Avenir Québec government over its university funding changes. The controversial measures included:
- A 33 per cent tuition increase for out-of-province students, raising fees from $9,000 to about $12,000
- French proficiency requirements for non-Quebec students
- Changes to the funding formula for international students
The Legault government had argued these measures were necessary to protect the French language and reduce the number of non-French-speaking students in Quebec.
However, in April 2025, Quebec Superior Court Justice Éric Dufour ruled key parts of the overhaul were "unreasonable" and ordered them struck down. The court invalidated the tuition hike for students from other provinces and immediately scrapped French proficiency requirements for non-Quebec applicants.
Financial Impact and Ongoing Challenges
According to Concordia's 2024-25 financial statements, the university spent $629.1 million while generating a $31.9-million deficit. The university attributes its financial troubles to multiple factors, including decreased enrollment from other provinces, new provincial and federal limits on international students, and a Quebec government clawback that costs the university $6,000 per student per year in international student revenue.
At a May meeting of Concordia's Senate, President Graham Carr revealed the university had spent more than $500,000 on the court case at that point. He described the court decision as "a moral victory that confirms what the University had been saying all along: that the targeting of the anglophone universities was unfair."
Despite the legal victory, Carr acknowledged that "the damage has been done" in terms of plummeting registrations from both Canadian and international students, plus ongoing revenue losses.
Broader Context of Legal Challenges
Concordia isn't alone in spending significant funds to challenge CAQ government legislation. The English Montreal School Board reported spending about $1.3 million to contest Quebec's secularism law (Bill 21), with costs expected to rise as the case moves to the Supreme Court of Canada.
Similarly, the Fédération autonome de l'enseignement teachers' union has spent nearly $2 million challenging Bill 21.
These legal expenditures have drawn criticism from CAQ ministers. Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette previously questioned "when Quebecers' public funds are used to fight laws validly adopted in the National Assembly."
The government's response includes a proposed Quebec constitution that would bar taxpayer-funded institutions from using public money to sue the government, potentially affecting future legal challenges by universities and other public bodies.
The Bureau de coopération interuniversitaire, representing all Quebec universities, is expected to submit a brief about the proposed constitution to the National Assembly commission as consultations begin.
