McGill’s Winter 2026 Semester officially started on Jan. 5, giving McGill students a two-week-long winter break. Compared to other Montreal universities such as Concordia University and Université de Montréal, McGill students receive one week fewer of winter holidays. Other Canadian universities, such as the University of Ottawa, also resume classes a week after McGill, leaving some McGill students to question the reason for this discrepancy between McGill and other schools.

In a written statement to The Tribune, McGill’s Media Relations Office (MRO) explained that the academic calendar must follow the Guidelines Regarding the Setting of the University Calendar of Academic Dates.

“McGill’s academic calendars, which are approved at least two years in advance, are reviewed judiciously and respect several key priorities,” the MRO wrote. “These include, among others, ensuring student well-being, two full 13-week terms, minimum examination periods, and the provision of a Reading Break in both the Fall and Winter terms.”

The guidelines also mandate that McGill’s academic calendar include a one-day or weekend study break, separating the end of classes and the first day of exams. Overall, there must be at least 130 teaching days over the combined Fall and Winter terms.

In an email exchange with The Tribune, the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Vice President of University Affairs Susan Aloudat reaffirmed that McGill’s current academic calendar reflects a set of accommodations that students have advocated for, including an earlier winter exam season and a week-long Reading Break.

“McGill’s academic calendar starts earlier than other universities in the province to allow for an earlier exam season,” Aloudat said. “[This] also gives [professors] almost the entire month of May to prepare grades for May graduation, as well as to accommodate the spring break.”

Fall 2021 saw McGill University implement a two-day extension to Thanksgiving weekend for the first time. Fall 2024 was the first semester to see a week-long Reading Break. Such changes, in addition to McGill’s mandate for full 13-week terms, often create complications for scheduling academic calendars as well as student engagement activities. Nonetheless, the MRO assured that maintaining a student democracy remains a top priority in McGill’s decision-making.

“[McGill’s decision] was done in close collaboration with students and student leadership,” the MRO wrote. “[It follows] a careful assessment of the impact on the academic year, with student well-being being a key factor [….] McGill welcomes student feedback on its academic calendar.”

While some students expressed dissatisfaction with the comparatively short duration of winter break, Aloudat underscored that many other students prioritize mid-semester breaks over a lengthy winter break.

“Students are the ones who advocated for Reading Break to be the entire week instead of the initial couple of days,” she wrote. “I imagine this demonstrated that having an entire week of break in the middle of each semester is important to the students, which is why the academic calendar is distributed the way it is by McGill.”

In an email to The Tribune, Chloé Muñoz, Arts and Science senator, expressed that although McGill has a comparatively shorter winter break than other universities, the calendar allows her to stay focused in the winter semester.

“As a student, […] I quite enjoy the length of the break we have,” she wrote. “I know this is not an opinion shared by the majority of students but I find that after an approximately [two-week] break, I come back rested but not fully detached from school.”

She also mentioned that McGill’s academic calendar allows for a longer summer break, which may be beneficial to many students wanting to explore opportunities outside of the university.

“Starting earlier [allows us to] have a longer overall ‘summer time,’” she explained. “This time ends up being [the] length of a typical semester, allowing students to have more time in internships, taking classes, and exploring things outside of the direct boundaries of our academic lives.”