Dozens of Montrealers gathered Saturday to call on Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada to make the city a sanctuary for people living in Canada without permanent immigration status.
The rally, organized by advocacy groups, including Solidarity Across Borders, Women of Diverse Origins and the Defund the Police coalition, brought protesters to the steps of Montreal’s City Hall — many carrying posters in support of undocumented migrants.
“Making Montreal a sanctuary city means allowing all Montrealers to feel protected, regardless of their status,” said Samira Jasmin, a spokesperson for Solidarity Across Borders. “It means allowing everyone access to housing, employment, health care, education, food banks, social assistance and unemployment support.”
“Soraya is the first racialized woman from a migrant background to serve as mayor of Montreal,” Jasmin added. “We have high expectations that she will adopt a strong and exemplary stance to protect the integrity and dignity of undocumented and precarious-status Montrealers.”
The mayor has so far not commented on the matter.
Immigration enforcement has become an increasingly volatile issue across North America, as U.S. President Donald Trump has made cracking down on illegal immigration — and expanding the powers of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) — a centrepiece of his second term.
And that has sparked anti-ICE demonstrations. In Montreal, the most recent saw about 1,000 people gather outside the headquarters of the security firm GardaWorld in the St-Laurent borough to criticize the company’s contract with ICE.
The question of whether Montreal should be a sanctuary city surfaced during Trump’s first presidency in 2017.
At the time, then-Mayor Denis Coderre declared Montreal a sanctuary city, though advocacy groups later argued the designation was largely symbolic and did not result in concrete protections for undocumented residents.
The following year, newly elected Mayor Valérie Plante reversed course on it, arguing the city does not have the authority to ignore arrest warrants issued by the Canada Border Services Agency.
Cities including Toronto and Vancouver have also adopted policies limiting co-operation with federal immigration enforcement.
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