Montrealers recognize Transgender Day of Remembrance

Over 100 people gathered to celebrate and grieve transgender lives

Newsphoto essayMegan Mills Devoe — Published November 22, 2025 2 minutes

The demonstration began at 7 p.m. with a candlelit vigil, featuring speakers from across Canada who shared messages of grief, rage and resistance. 

Many speakers criticised Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s invocation of the notwithstanding clause to push transphobic legislation. 

In his speech, Albertan activist Rowan Morris likened the loss of bodily autonomy to a form of sexual assault. 

“On Nov. 18, once again, my community was raped by my government,” Morris said. “The invocation of the notwithstanding clause means that for the next five years our bodies are not our own in Alberta [...]. For the next five years, transgender Albertans are second-class citizens officially.” 
 

Others spoke to the role that colonization has played in creating a culture of transphobic fear-mongering.

“Gender abundance existed long before the state knew how to criminalize it,” one speaker said. “Fluidity and plurality were part of the breath of this place long before colonization tried to sever that breath.” 
 

Around 8:30 p.m., demonstrators left the square and began marching from Dorchester square to Mont-Royal Metro station by way of Saint Laurent Blvd. 

The demonstration dispersed peacefully around 10:15 p.m. without any police intervention.