Concordia University to offer free tuition to First Nations, Inuit students from Quebec

Starting this fall, Concordia University will offer a tuition waiver to First Nations and Inuit students whose communities are in Quebec.

The waiver will include most undergraduate and graduate programs and apply to full or part-time studies.

Representatives of the university say reducing financial barriers follows the recommendations of their Indigenous Directions Action Plan and is a critical aspect toward reconciliation. 

Manon Tremblay, senior director of Indigenous Directions, said a common misconception is all Indigenous students get their tuition waived but the reality is some communities have to make choices on who they send to school, leaving some to put their dreams of going to university on the side until they can be funded.

“With our tuition waivers we do not have any conditions because some of the band councils have to make decisions, they do have some eligibility criteria that students have to meet,” Tremblay said. “One of these is to be able to maintain a certain GPA for example, with our tuition waiver we don’t have those criterias.”

According to a press release, Concordia joins other Canadian universities in launching programs that reduce financial barriers to education for Indigenous students, including the University of Waterloo, University of Toronto, and McGill University.

‘Reconciliation with Indigenous People’

Concordia student Kaitlynn Thomas who is in her fourth year, says though tuition hasn’t directly impacted her, it has always been a barrier among Indigenous students.

“I think it helps the future of Indigenous people and future education for Indigenous people,” she said. “I think it will spread a lot of word of mouth and also inspire those to be able to have this level of education and get jobs that lots of Indigenous students and people couldn’t get before.”

Tremblay says they hope the initiative will encourage more Indigenous students to attend the school and will help reduce any current challenges.

“I think this really is for us, this is one of the major and important components of reconciliation with Indigenous People and we’re hoping that this is how it’s also being seen,” Tremblay said.

“It’s a huge benefit,” Thomas said. “It opens up a lot of doors to Indigenous students and Indigenous youth who perhaps couldn’t have the opportunity to even go to universities.”

Tremblay adds though this isn’t the finish line, it is a step forward, as more work is being done with support services like the Otsenhákta Student Centre, which has become a reliable place for students to call home away from home while at Concordia.

“It gives me a safe place to focus and study and feel support and talk to other Indigenous students about anything,” Thomas said about the centre.

“It means a lot to me.”