Pop Montreal founder describes the beautiful diversity out-of-province students bring to Quebec
Pop Montreal music festival founder Dan Seligman credits his career to one simple decision he made as a young person: moving to Montreal from Toronto in 1996 to study at McGill University as an out-of-province student.
After his studies, he says he "accidentally" started working in the Montreal music industry, decided to stay and eventually founded the annual music festival.
READ MORE: Amid tuition hikes, former students share why choosing Montreal was the best decision of their lives
"I got lucky, but it was a lot to do with wanting to stay in Montreal and live here and figure this out," he tells CTV News.
Seligman says he worries that others won't be able to have the same life-changing experience he did.
New tuition hikes imposed by the Quebec government promise to raise fees by 30 per cent from $9,000 to a minimum of $12,000 per year for out-of-province students.
International students would now have to pay a base rate of $20,000, with the government collecting $3,000 in fees.
"It seems quite short-sighted and a bad idea in the long run," said Seligman. "It seems kind of vindictive."
He points out many of his friends came from elsewhere in Canada, fell in love with the city and stayed.
"What makes Montreal interesting is a mix of all kinds of different cultures: French, English, immigrants, students, young people, old people," he tells CTV News. "It's such a great mix of all these things."
Seligman says he worries the tuition hikes could take away from the city's diverse and vibrant arts and culture scene.
"A lot of people, whether they're artists or not, they want to come to Montreal... but secretly, they just want to be in a band," he said. "A lot of young musicians, students, do that because it's an affordable place to live. If tuitions go up drastically, people just won't be able to do that."
Seligman laments the increase could likely affect the festival's future, which is largely supported by young English speakers.
"The success of Pop Montreal is linked to the success of a lot of independent bands," he said, pointing to Arcade Fire, Grimes and Patrick Watson as examples. "A lot of these bands have made their careers in the Montreal indie scene."
The tuition fee increases are set to be implemented at the start of the 2024-25 academic year.
The Quebec government is also demanding that students graduating from English-language universities be evaluated at a Level 5 on the Quebec scale of French-language proficiency by the end of their undergraduate degree program.
Explore the stories of people who have made Montreal their home:
Can't see or scroll through the interactive feature below? Click here for the full-screen presentation.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Humboldt Broncos crash victims and families react to decision to deport truck driver
The family of one of the victims of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash in 2018 says they are 'thankful' for a decision by a Calgary immigration board to deport the driver of the truck involved.
A woman took her dog to a shelter to be euthanized. A year later, the dog is up for adoption again
Exhausted and short on options after consulting two veterinary clinics, Kristie Pereira made the gut-wrenching decision last year to take her desperately ill puppy to a Maryland shelter to be euthanized.
Toddler dies after being struck by recycling truck in Barrie, Ont. neighbourhood
A toddler has died after being struck by a recycling truck in a Barrie, Ont. neighbourhood on Thursday afternoon.
Community mourns victims of fatal boat crash near Kingston, Ont.
The three people killed in last weekend's tragic collision between a speedboat and a fishing boat north of Kingston are being remembered Friday.
'God forgives but we don’t': Loud outburst from stabbing victim’s family during sentencing hearing
An emotional outburst in a London, Ont. courtroom Friday disrupted the sentencing hearing of a woman who pleaded guilty for her part in the death of a 29-year-old Mohammed Abdallah.
Governments must disaster-proof Canada's hospitals against climate change: experts
Last month, the Canadian Medical Association warned that Canada's health-care facilities are among the oldest public infrastructure in use. Half were built more than 50 years ago, making them especially vulnerable to extreme climate events.
Luciano Benetton says he's stepping down as chairman of family-run brand as losses top US$100 million
Luciano Benetton, a co-founder of the apparel brand, announced he was stepping down as chairman in an interview published on Saturday with Milan daily Corriere della Sera. He blamed current management for losses of 100 million euros (US$108.5 million) that he discovered last year.
1 dead, 3 in hospital after flying wheel crashes into bus windshield on QEW
A man is dead, and three others are in hospital after a flying wheel crashed into a coach bus on the QEW in St. Catharines.
NASA launches tiny CubeSat to set its sights on Earth
NASA has launched the first of two research satellites to measure how much heat is lost to space from the Arctic and Antarctica.