University of Montréal (UdeM) student strike, as part of the Québec student strike against tuition increases, 2012

From February to August 2012, students at University of Montreal (UdeM) went on strike to oppose the Quebec government's plans to raise tuition fees. These students were part of the larger province-wide CEGEP and CLASSE 2012 strike against tuition increases. More than 1,600 UdeM students in various departments—Art History, Anthropology, Film Studies, East Asian Studies, and Comparative Literature—remained on strike as of August 30. Students organized at least 12 protests, some with nearby universities, including picketing and blocking access to classes. In August 2012, students protested the school's provisional injunction against the hard picketing of classes, which university leaders justified as necessary to comply with the provincial government's back-to-school legislation, Law 12, which required the university to resume classes. The university called in police to repress multiple protests that month. Police in riot gear declared protests illegal, kettled students, and arrested some, accusing some students of assaulting police. At one protest, students denounced the disproportionate repression of democratic collective action, claiming there were 50 protesters and 50 police officers who came with 20 patrol vehicles, several public transportation buses, and anti-riot vehicles. The university administration suspended classes targeted by to the strike until provincial elections were held in early September 2012. That fall, the newly elected provincial government cancelled the tuition fee increase.