Quebec colleges report rising enrollment and infrastructure needs

Colleges in Quebec are reporting significant shifts in student enrollment and infrastructure needs for the 2026 academic year.

Cégep Drummond has reached a milestone with 3,253 regular students and nearly 700 in continuing education, representing a 6.5% increase from the previous year. To accommodate this growth, the institution has officially opened a new pavilion featuring 13 additional classrooms, a visual arts floor, study zones, and new student life spaces. Director General Pierre Leblanc noted that the new infrastructure was necessary to address the growing student population.

Meanwhile, Cégep de l'Outaouais is seeing a surge in demand, with total enrollment reaching 7,000 students. While the college has expanded, including a new radiodiagnostics wing, it was forced to refuse 784 applications this year. This refusal rate is part of a larger trend where the institution has denied approximately 2,500 applications over the last four years. A significant portion of these refusals—75%—is concentrated in ten specific programs, particularly in health and social services such as nursing and dental hygiene, raising concerns regarding regional labor shortages.