Thousands of students across Quebec launched strikes and demonstrations this week to demand paid mandatory internships, sweeping reforms to financial aid, and increased public funding for higher education.
The mobilizations began on November 9, 2026. Roughly 74,000 students hold strike mandates coordinated by the Coalition de résistance pour l’unité étudiante syndicale, Pivot Quebec reported.
Demonstrations took place in Montreal, Quebec City, Sherbrooke, Saguenay, Chicoutimi, Rimouski, and Gatineau. They closed campuses and drew thousands into the streets by Friday, November 13, 2026.
Students Fight Unpaid Internships
Student groups argue that unpaid placements in vital public sectors amount to modern exploitation. Trainees shoulder hundreds of hours of uncompensated work while paying tuition.
The movement coincides with International Interns’ Day. It brings renewed pressure on the newly elected Parti Québécois government.
The Parti Québécois promised to mandate paid internships for public-sector programs in essential state functions such as health, social services, teaching, and early childhood education. Student leaders demand that Premier Paul St-Pierre Plamondon honor those commitments in the government’s upcoming budget.
“Now, the government must pass from the acts from its very first budget and remunerate the stages,” said Loïc Goyette, president of the Union étudiante du Québec.
Striking Associations Push for Financial Aid Overhaul and Campus Repairs
Striking associations are pushing for a major overhaul of student financial aid, Journal Le Soir reported. Current maximum awards leave recipients below Quebec’s low-income threshold. Students report losing financial aid portions if they take on outside employment.
Demonstrators point to crumbling infrastructure across CEGEPs and universities. They point to massive deficits for building repairs, cuts to specialized student support services, and chronic housing shortages.
Labor organizations have thrown their weight behind the student actions. The Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ) and the Alliance du personnel professionnel et technique de la santé et des services sociaux support the strike.
Supporting trainees stems severe staffing shortages in public services.
The Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) confirmed no arrests were made during the early-week actions. The mobilization culminates with a large provincial march in Montreal on Friday.
Associations such as the Syndicat national des stagiaires en éducation, led by Loïk Lachapelle, said that the vast majority of trainees remain uncompensated in fields critical to the public sector. Student organizers gathered outside ministry offices and educational institutions.
Union representatives from the CSQ, including Nadine Bédard-St-Pierre, said that current workforce challenges in health and education require immediate investment in the next generation of professionals.
Demonstrators marched through university campuses and city streets with banners and slogans directed at government leaders. They called for systemic funding increases to stabilize both infrastructure and student living standards.
Will Premier Paul St-Pierre Plamondon include paid internships and financial aid overhauls in the upcoming government budget?
