Note: the following tips might not be generalizable to everyone, as I only speak of my experience studying Computer Science and Mathematics at Concordia University, Montreal.
1. Extended Credit Program
Due to the difference in high school curriculums between Quebec and Ontario, out-of-province students need to take an extra year of university classes which is formally known as the extended credit program (ECP).
There is a recommended list of elective classes to take to satisfy those credits, which cover various topics like economics, philosophy and astronomy. However, not many people know that you are actually able to take almost any class and have it satisfy your ECP electives.
Due to my interest in music, I got a chance to take a jazz theory class which was really an awesome experience. I also used another elective slot to take an additional math class that wasn’t part of my main curriculum.
If you ever thought of taking a very random class out of pure curiosity, this is your best chance, but please make sure to ask the registrar before enrolling to make sure the transfer will be possible.
2. Quebec Inter-University Transfer
There is a portal that allows Quebec university students to take classes at any other institution within the network. Through this opportunity, I got a chance to take an advanced math class (Convex Optimization with the excellent professor Courtney Paquette) at McGill university.
This portal is great because if some classes are only taught on certain semesters at your university, you might be able to take an equivalent class elsewhere at your own pace. Of course, the main benefit is that you will get to experience another student life and meet new and interesting people.
Another little trick that not many people know about; You can actually skip pre-requisites at the host university, as long as you are able to transfer the class to an equivalent one at your home university.
For example, the optimization class at McGill focused a lot on theory, analysis was a pre-requisite, but since Concordia didn’t have the same requirement for its optimization class, I was effectively able to bypass this rule. This is only something I would recommend doing if you are absolutely interested in the class and do your own research beforehand.
3. Exchange Semester Abroad
This is sort of related to the previous advice, but might be a bit more challenging both financially and logistically. The main difficulty lies in being able to transfer classes from the host university, the best time to do this exchange would be your 2nd or 3rd year. I already talk about my experience in this blogpost, but to summarize, doing a semester abroad is a great chance to travel around the world, learn about a new culture, and meet new friends.