MONTREAL — McGill University is planning cost cuts and layoffs to address a projected $45-million deficit next fiscal year, which it blames partly on new Quebec government policies.
Administrators at the Montreal university say McGill is dealing with many of the same challenges facing other Canadian post-secondary institutions, including cuts to international student enrolment. But they say McGill has also been hit hard by the Quebec government's decision to increase tuition for out-of-province students and to claw back enrolment revenue.
"These pressures have significant implications for the delivery of McGill's mission and our identity as a world-class university," McGill president Deep Saini said Friday during a town hall meeting.
McGill provost Christopher Manfredi said during the meeting that the university is expecting a $15-million deficit this fiscal year, but that could rise to an accumulated deficit of $194 million by 2028 if no changes are made.
In response, the university is planning to balance its budget and eliminate projected deficits of $45 million, $16 million and $14 million over the next three fiscal years. Manfredi said staffing accounts for 80 per cent of McGill's operating expenses, and the majority of the savings will come from cutting "administrative and academic head count."
He said some savings will come from attrition — not replacing staff who leave — and from eliminating overtime, reducing working hours where employees are willing, and not filling some vacancies.
"But we also know … that's not likely to be enough," Manfredi said. "In some circumstances, positions will have to be abolished, resulting in the loss of employment. That's unsettling news. We realize that, and it's not something we take lightly."
Manfredi said 250 to 500 positions may need to be eliminated, though McGill says up to 360 employees leave the university in a given year for various reasons, which could affect the number of layoffs. Every faculty has been given a budget target for the 2025-26 fiscal year, Manfredi said, adding that they can meet those targets by ending or downsizing certain activities, eliminating low-enrolment courses, prioritizing teaching by tenure-stream faculty and increasing enrolment where possible.
The university is also launching a new, multi-year initiative called Horizon McGill to improve administrative efficiency and program delivery. Manfredi called it a "re-examination of the university's budget model."
McGill is not alone in facing a period of financial turmoil. Universities and colleges across the country are reporting deficits and budget cuts, driven in large part by the federal government's cap on international students, first announced in January 2024. "Virtually every university in Canada is facing budgetary deficits at the moment," Manfredi said.
The Quebec government also passed a law in December that gives it broad discretion to limit the number of international students in the province based on region, institution and program of study.
Manfredi also pointed to several other "unexpected" Quebec policies that put an additional strain on McGill, including the government's 2023 decision to increase tuition for out-of-province students by $3,000 a year, a move it said was necessary to protect the French language in the province. The government also decided to claw back a large portion of international student fees to redistribute them to French-language universities.
Quebec's three English-language universities will also be required to ensure that 80 per cent of undergraduate students from outside the province reach an intermediate level of proficiency in French by the time they graduate, starting in fall 2025.
"It has taken more than two centuries to build this world-renowned university, but just over a year for these decisions to harm it deeply," the university said Monday in an email statement.
Concordia University, the second-largest English-language university in Quebec, has also reported major financial problems since the new policies were announced. Last week, the university announced it's on track for a $34.5-million deficit this fiscal year, as part of a government-approved financial recovery plan.
But Concordia says it's forecasting a $79-million deficit for the 2025-26 fiscal year, due to factors including declining enrolment and salary increases. That deficit must be reduced to $31.6 million, according to the approved plan.
The university says it will maintain a staff hiring freeze and try to recruit more students, but it still needs to find nearly $22 million in savings to meet its mandated deficit. Both McGill and Concordia say continued deficits could affect their credit ratings and increase the cost of borrowing.
Raad Jassim, president of the McGill Course Lecturers and Instructors Union, said budget cuts will hurt students and the quality of their education. His union represents about 2,000 course lecturers, who he said will end up teaching larger classes with less support from administrative staff and teaching assistants.
"It'll be theatrical. You come in and you do your presentation and you go," he said. "Usually we spend a lot of time outside the classroom, whether it is tutorials, whether it is office hours. That will all be diminished."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 10, 2025.
Maura Forrest, The Canadian Press
