Quebec unveils sweeping plans for student mental health, academic success

Quebec City -

Quebec unveiled two sweeping plans to address mental health concerns among CEGEP and university students, and to improve student success.

The first initiative, dubbed “Action Plan for Success in Higher Education,” will cost $450 million over the next five years.

During that period, the province will support initiatives from advertising for university programs, to hiring teachers, and researching socioeconomic obstacles for prospective students.

• A full breakdown of the Action Plan for Success in Higher Education can be found here.

The aim of the project, according to the province, is to increase the proportion of Quebecers with a university diploma by 1.5 per cent from 2022 to 2023.

Minister of Higher Education Danielle McCann said increasing that statistic is “an essential vector for the economic, social and cultural development of Quebec.”

The other plan, called “Action Plan for Student Mental Health in Higher Education 2021-2026,” comes with an investment of nearly $60 million.

That money will also be spread out over the next five years.

Under that plan, the province will develop a standardized “reference framework” for student wellbeing, hold province-wide investigations on student mental health, and to develop ways to improve it.

• A full breakdown of the Action Plan for Student Mental Health in Higher Education 2021-2026 can be found here.

Quebec has already invested in improving mental health of young Quebecers, recently injecting $25 million in October to address growing calls for better care.

On Thursday, McCann affirmed it was necessary to spend more to address the needs of students.

“The last year and a half has been difficult for everyone,” she said