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

November 27, 2025

The Canadian Press

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.