On December 6, 1989 a gunman entered a mechanical engineering class at the École Polytechnique in Montreal, Quebec, and ordered the women and men to opposite sides of the classroom. He separated nine women, instructing the men to leave. He stated that he was “fighting feminism”. One student, Nathalie Provost (video interview with Nathalie below), calmly explained that they were engineering students and were not part of any political movement – but he opened fire on all nine women in the room, killing six. The shooter then moved through corridors, the cafeteria, and another classroom, targeting women for just under 20 minutes. He killed a further eight before turning the gun on himself.
(Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89cole_Polytechnique_massacre)
Following the tragedy, members of the House of Commons responded by enacting stronger gun control measures, while government officials introduced additional actions aimed at addressing violence against women. The massacre also prompted critical changes to emergency response protocols, including a shift toward immediate police intervention during active shooting situations. These reforms were later credited with reducing casualties in subsequent shooting incidents in Montreal and other locations.
The tragedy had a significant impact on the Canadian women’s movement and became a turning point in public awareness of violence against women. Many advocates viewed the event as a call to strengthen efforts toward prevention, education, and policy reform. Activist Judy Rebick later described how collective grief was transformed into organized action to address gender-based violence.
In response, a House of Commons Sub-Committee on the Status of Women was established and released a report titled The War Against Women in June 1991. Although the report was not formally adopted by the full standing committee, it influenced subsequent federal initiatives. In August 1991, the federal government created the Canadian Panel on Violence Against Women, which published its final report, Changing the Landscape: Ending Violence – Achieving Equality, in June 1993. The panel recommended a National Action Plan focused on promoting gender equality and strengthening government responses to violence against women. Academic research into family violence and gender-based violence also expanded during this period.
Gun Control in Canada
The massacre galvanized Canada’s gun-control movement. Within a week, two École Polytechnique professors launched a petition for stricter laws that gathered over 500,000 signatures. Student Heidi Rathjen (who survived by chance) and Wendy Cukier formed the Coalition for Gun Control to push for a gun registry and tighter firearm regulation, joined by parents Suzanne and Jim Edward.
Their advocacy helped bring about Bill C-17 (1992) and C-68, the Firearms Act (1995), which introduced measures such as owner training, background screening, a 28-day waiting period, safe-storage rules, firearm registration, magazine capacity restrictions, and reclassification of certain weapons.
In 2009, survivors, their families, and Polytechnique alumni formed PolySeSouvient to oppose efforts to dismantle the long-gun registry under Prime Minister Harper. Although the registry was abolished federally in 2012, Quebec briefly preserved its own. After a Supreme Court ruling in 2015 allowed destruction of federal data, Quebec established its own gun registry.
PolySeSouvient, led by survivors like Nathalie Provost and Heidi Rathjen, continues to lobby for stronger gun laws. In 2018, the Trudeau government introduced Bill C-71, restoring firearm sales registration, though PolySeSouvient criticized it as inadequate. Following the 2020 Nova Scotia mass killing, Trudeau announced a ban on about 1,500 “military-style” weapons.
On December 5, 2024 — just before the massacre’s anniversary — the Canadian government extended its 2020 assault-weapon ban via a new Order in Council, covering 104 firearm families (324 models) and including a voluntary amnesty buyback program.
NOT JUST A HISTORICAL EVENT
As we mourn these deaths, we also remember those whose lives are threatened by
gender-based violence and honour the lives of those who have been killed.
In the last 52 weeks (since November 26, 2024),
there have been 43 confirmed cases of Femicide in Ontario.
