University costs climb for Quebec students as tariff war continues

A woman rests her head on a desk. (Andrea Piacquadio/pexels.com)

Higher education is far from free in Quebec, and the cost of student life can differ greatly from person to person.

This is based on a variety of factors, including where a person lives – at home or in an apartment – as well as their parents’ financial situations and what academic program they are enrolled in.

• READ MORE: Is your family ready for back to school? A few tips to mentally prepare your children

According to Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), in addition to tuition fees, a student could spend up to $21,631 on living expenses in 2025, mostly on accommodation and food.

That estimate was echoed by students Noovo Info spoke to at UQAM, who explained that, depending on their program, they could fork out anywhere from $2,000 to $35,000 per year on tuition, with international students paying closer to $25,000 and $56,000 a year.

• READ MORE: 5 tips to help students avoid financial debt

This comes after the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government set a mandatory minimum of $20,000 for international students in 2024.

Tariff war

The start of the academic year is often a time to search for deals and bargains in the hopes of saving money here and there, but experts explain that Donald Trump’s tariff war is having the opposite effect – forcing prices to rise instead.

“With the tariff war, it’s not just school supplies, but rent, integration activities and food that have increased,” said Emmanuelle Faubert, an economist with the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI). “Food in particular, with tariffs and counter-tariffs.”

• READ MORE: Montrealers see rising demand for back-to-school assistance as costs climb

She explains that disruptions in the supply chain, especially for products produced or assembled in the U.S. or items that require transportation between Canada and the United States, are also causing issues.

“There is always a delay between the tariffs in place and the counter-tariffs because of the depletion of stocks,” Faubert notes.

She says she believes that the price of supplies, books and clothing may fall within the next few months as the counter-tariffs are withdrawn.

Free education

Experts insist that Quebec is still a long way from offering free education – the norm in Europe and other parts of the world, where education is funded and administered by the government and offered free of charge to students.

• READ MORE: Back to school: How much is it costing you to equip your child?

In 2022, researchers at the Institut de recherche et d’informations socioéconomiques (IRIS) calculated that free university education in Quebec would cost $1.2 billion annually.