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MONTREAL — Montreal’s municipal council adopted a motion of solidarity with the Palestinian people in a meeting on Monday night.
The motion, which contained multiple amendments from the one originally presented by the opposition party, was passed with 54 councillors voting in favour and six voting against.
The original motion, introduced by Projet Montréal, the municipal party that forms the official Opposition at city hall, called on Montreal to recognize and denounce what it describes as an apartheid regime in Palestine and a genocide being perpetrated there, and to express solidarity with Palestinians and other civilian victims of the conflict.
It also called on the city to suspend institutional ties with the current Israeli government, its institutions and municipalities.
Minutes before the council adopted the motion, the party in power, Ensemble Montreal, proposed its amendments, which were adopted along party lines.
The amendments add focus on diversity and inclusion in Montreal and remove most claims of genocide as well as the calls to cut ties with Israel.
“We are extremely disappointed with the amendments. (The motion) is very watered down, which is typical. But we didn’t want to withdraw our motion. We left a mark, in essence. That was important,” said Nathalie Goulet, the councillor for the Ahuntsic-Cartierville who presented the motion, outside city hall after the meeting.
Around Goulet, a crowd of protesters was cheering, thanking or hugging her as she passed. Yet one expressed his displeasure, asking councillors to explain why they had voted for a motion that removed mention of a “genocide.”
During the debate to approve the motion, the Opposition clashed with Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada over the city’s role in denouncing international conflict.
Martinez Ferrada argued that it was not Montreal’s role to denounce these conflicts, passing that responsibility to the federal government and making the case for unity within the city.
Interim Leader of the Opposition, Ericka Alneus, argued that international conflicts ripple to the municipality.
“They have a very real impact on our community, whether we want it or not,” she said.
Alneus highlighted the importance of the motion, even amended.
“One thing is for sure: we had this debate. When no one wanted to have it, Montreal had this debate,” she said.
Early in the day, councillors arriving at city hall were greeted by protesters carrying Palestinian flags and chanting “Free Palestine.”
Speaking to reporters ahead of the meeting, Martinez Ferrada said the city cannot ignore a reported rise in antisemitism, adding that she understands the concerns of those with family in the Middle East.
“Our responsibility is making sure that we’re working toward services to citizens and making sure we have a social cohesion and people are respected,” she said. “We have to find a way to get people together, even when those conversations are difficult.”
The opposition’s proposal had received the backing of Montreal Anti-Apartheid, a campaign launched during the city’s 2025 municipal election, though it falls short of the group’s broader demands, explained co-founder Sepideh Anvar.
The campaign wants Montreal to cut, rather than suspend, institutional ties with Israel. Its broader demands include divesting from Israeli entities and companies it says contribute to apartheid and genocide, boycotting Israeli representatives and providing greater support to Palestinian refugees.
Anvar, who described the motion as a first step, said suspending institutional ties could mean Israeli government representatives would no longer be invited to Montreal City Hall and municipal officials would not accept paid trips, gifts or meals from Israel.
“In a campaign where we can barely get even symbolic gestures of solidarity with Palestine, the fact that the City of Montreal, one of the largest cities in North America, is preparing to do something concrete, to suspend ties, is astonishing,” she said.
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, which advocates on behalf of Jewish federations across Canada, called on Montreal councillors to vote down the motion. The organization said the proposal risks deepening divisions in the city and argued municipal leaders should prioritize local concerns such as housing, homelessness, infrastructure and public safety.
The motion had drawn support from more than 700 Quebec artists, cultural workers and organizations, who signed a declaration urging city councillors to vote in favour.
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs had also raised concerns about the motion in the context of antisemitism and recent incidents targeting Montreal’s Jewish community. The CIJA said thousands of Montrealers opposed an earlier version of the proposal in June, which was initially scheduled for debate that month but was postponed until August.
Both Anvar and Manering disputed the argument that international affairs fall outside the responsibilities of a municipal government.
Manering said the motion would not distract from local issues, while Anvar pointed to Montreal’s history of opposing apartheid in South Africa, including a 1987 decision to deny contracts to companies that profited from the regime.
Manering and Anvar hope Montreal’s vote could encourage other Canadian municipalities to take similar action.
The council also reviewed another motion on Monday denouncing acts of antisemitism, including firebombings at synagogues. That motion will now be debated by the agglomeration council for the entire Island of Montreal.
The agglomeration council includes a number of elected officials, including Martinez Ferrada and mayors from 14 cities that demerged from Montreal.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 24, 2026.
Marieke Glorieux-Stryckman and Erika Morris, The Canadian Press
