Montreal's Concordia University reports drop in enrolment following tuition hike

Montreal's Concordia University is reporting a nearly 30 per cent drop in new registrations of out-of-province students following a tuition hike announced last year by the Quebec government.

The university says enrolment of international students has dropped by 11 per cent compared to last year.

The provincial government has increased tuition for out-of-province students to $12,000 from $9,000 as part of an effort to protect the French language, but Quebec's two largest English-language universities are fighting the change.

McGill University says it won't have its final enrolment numbers until October, but it said last December it was seeing a 20 per cent drop in out-of-province applicants.

The two universities are suing the Quebec government over the new tuition policy, which they say constitutes discrimination.

Higher Education Minister Pascale Déry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.