Montreal shooting survivor shares how she regained sense of safety

TORONTO — École Polytechnique shooting survivor Nathalie Provost says it took her several weeks to return to the site of the Montreal massacre, but doing so allowed her to reclaim her life and create a sense of safety again.

She was shot in the leg, foot and forehead by a gunman who killed 14 women and injured more than a dozen people in 1989, including six of her classmates.

“We cannot live in the fear that it can happen,” Provost said, emotion still ripe in her voice 37 years later.

Her reflections on healing come in response to one of the worst school shootings in the country’s history on Tuesday in Tumbler Ridge, a small community in British Columbia, where nine people are dead, including the suspect.

Provost, now a member of Parliament in Quebec, says going back to school to finish her undergraduate degree once she was released from hospital was her way of moving forward. She says that was the best thing she could have done at the time.

Now as a mother of four, she acknowledges how difficult that must have been for her own mother, breaking into tears as she speaks of the sorrow and fear that must be consuming the parents of Tumbler Ridge right now.

“I’m so sad. I just cannot imagine what it is being 12, 13, 15, 16 years old and looking at what they were looking at yesterday evening. I remember what I saw. And for all of those who saw horror in their life, I am so sad,” she said.

Like many other parents across the county, Vancouver psychologist Dr. Valerie Caldeira says it was difficult to send her kids to daycare Wednesday morning.

“My sense of safety, also shattered,” she said, adding, “You kind of have to trust that they will be OK.”

Caldeira says it’s going to take time for the country to recover and that returning to routine is an important step, whether that’s going to extracurriculars or sticking to meal times.

“To have that sense of normalcy – that will really help restore a sense of safety,” Caldeira said.

While our sense of danger might be heightened, Dr. Allison Crawford, a chief medical officer for 9-8-8: Suicide Crisis Helpline, says that is not permanent, and there is hope for restoration.

She said it’s normal to feel overwhelmed, shocked, devastated, and that just knowing other Canadians are feeling this way can be validating and establish social cohesion.

“While we acknowledge the magnitude of this loss now, and have to do work to help people feel a sense of safety and connection …that’s not permanently shattered,” Crawford said.

“I think there’s lots of hope that we will collectively come back together and have that sense of safety restored.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 11, 2026.

Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.

Hannah Alberga, The Canadian Press