Montreal vigil to mark anniversary of Quebec City mosque attack

By Canadian Press on January 29, 2026.

MONTREAL — A vigil will be held in Montreal at 4:30 p.m. today to mark the ninth anniversary of the Jan. 29, 2017, Quebec City mosque attack and to honour the six people killed.

The event, being held at the Parc metro station, is part of Muslim Awareness Week, an initiative created in the aftermath of the attack.

Samira Laouni, a co-founder of Muslim Awareness Week, said the annual vigil honours the victims and the injured, while also standing against Islamophobia.

Jawad Kanani, board member of Muslim Awareness Week, said the vigil is taking place at a time when Islamophobia is high in Quebec.

On Jan. 29, 2017, a gunman entered the Islamic Cultural Centre in the Sainte-Foy neighbourhood of Quebec City during evening prayers and fatally shot six men.

Alexandre Bissonnette was originally sentenced to life in prison without being eligible for parole for 40 years, but on appeal Quebec’s highest court reduced the parole eligibility to 25 years.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 29, 2026.

The Canadian Press