Montreal university students decry Quebec government’s plan to ban prayer rooms

MONTREAL — Muslim students at a Montreal university say they’re deeply troubled by the Quebec government’s plan to ban prayer rooms in post-secondary schools.

They say the prayer room at Concordia University is an important gathering place for the Muslim community, visited by at least 500 students a day.

Some students say they chose to attend Concordia specifically because it has had a well-established prayer room for many years.

The Quebec government is expected to table a bill today that would ban prayer rooms in public institutions, most notably colleges and universities.

It would also ban full face coverings, such as the niqab, for post-secondary students.

Students at Concordia say the measures unfairly target the Muslim community and would create a new problem by forcing them to find other places to pray on campus.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 27, 2025.

The Canadian Press