MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA | Montreal City Council passed an amended motion Monday expressing solidarity with Palestinians and civilian victims of the Israel-Gaza conflict, but only after councilors removed the proposal’s most contentious provisions, including calls to suspend institutional and diplomatic ties with Israel.
The amended motion passed by a 54-6 show-of-hands vote following an extended debate over whether municipal governments should take positions on international conflicts.
The original motion, introduced by Projet Montréal, had called on Montreal to suspend institutional relationships with the Israeli government, Israeli institutions and Israeli municipalities. It also used the terms “apartheid” and “genocide” in describing Israel’s conduct.
Those provisions were removed before the final vote.
The adopted text instead focused on solidarity with the Palestinian people and civilian victims of the conflict.
The changes represented a significant retreat from the original proposal and reflected an effort by Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada’s administration to redirect the motion toward what the city described as unity, respect and dialogue.
In a statement after the vote, the administration said its amendments were intended to turn the resolution into “a call for unity, respect and dialogue, reflecting the values that make Montreal strong.”
Mayor Says Foreign Policy Is Not City Hall’s Role
Martinez Ferrada had repeatedly argued before the vote that international diplomacy falls outside Montreal City Hall’s primary mandate.
“Recognizing the limits of our institution is not turning a blind eye to Gaza,” she told council.
“It is not denying the suffering of the Palestinian people. It is not ignoring the suffering experienced elsewhere in the region. And it is certainly not a sign of indifference. It is respecting the international law we claim to defend.”
Her position reflected one of the central questions underlying the debate: whether municipal governments should formally intervene in foreign-policy disputes.
Projet Montréal councilors argued that Montreal has taken international positions before.
Coun. Nathalie Goulet cited former mayor Jean Doré’s decision to welcome anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela in 1990.
“We have a duty to humanity,” Goulet said. “Today, voices are rising around the world. Our voices must rise as well.”
Projet Montréal Coun. Alex Norris also pointed to Montreal’s support for Ukraine.
“If we condemn crimes against humanity when Russia commits them, we must condemn them when Israel commits them too,” Norris said.
Opposition Leader Calls Amendments a Dilution
Official Opposition Leader Ericka Alneus welcomed passage of the motion but openly acknowledged that the final version was substantially weaker than Projet Montréal’s original proposal.
She called the vote a “historic gesture” but said she was disappointed by what she described as major changes imposed by the administration.
“I will not hide my disappointment at the major modifications imposed by the administration, which significantly diluted our intention,” Alneus said.
Those changes are particularly significant because they eliminated the provisions that had generated the strongest objections from Montreal’s Jewish community.
The original motion had sought to suspend institutional relationships with Israel and had called on the city to characterize Israel’s conduct using the terms “apartheid” and “genocide.”
Neither survived into the final version approved by council.
Jewish Groups Had Warned Against Original Motion
Ahead of the vote, Jewish organizations including the Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs and B’nai Brith Canada strongly opposed the original proposal.
CIJA warned that the measure risked worsening an already hostile environment for Montreal Jews and argued that city council should concentrate on municipal responsibilities such as housing, public safety, infrastructure and affordability.
B’nai Brith Canada similarly urged councilors to reject what it called a divisive and one-sided motion.
The organization objected particularly to the language accusing Israel of apartheid and genocide and to the proposal to suspend municipal ties with Israeli institutions.
Both organizations linked their concerns to the broader rise in antisemitic incidents affecting Jewish institutions and individuals in Montreal.
The amendments adopted Monday removed the provisions at the center of many of those objections.
Protesters Gathered Outside City Hall
Before the council meeting, at least 70 pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered outside Montreal City Hall supporting the original Projet Montréal motion.
Some chanted, “Israël terroriste, Soraya complice,” meaning “Terrorist Israel, Soraya complicit.”
Supporters had urged councilors to go further than the eventual resolution.
Montreal Anti-Apartheid had backed the original motion and had advocated measures including cutting ties with Israel, rather than merely suspending them, as well as divestment and boycotts.
More than 700 members of Quebec’s arts and cultural community had also supported the proposal before the vote.
The final council decision stopped well short of those demands.
A Political Compromise Rather Than the Original Israel Motion
The 54-6 vote may appear overwhelming, but the margin should not be interpreted as council endorsing the original Projet Montréal proposal.
What councilors overwhelmingly approved was a substantially rewritten motion.
The provisions specifically targeting Israel’s institutional relationships with Montreal were removed.
So were the references to “apartheid” and “genocide.”
The remaining resolution expressed solidarity with Palestinians and civilian victims without committing the city to diplomatic or institutional sanctions against Israel.
That distinction is central to understanding Monday’s vote.
Projet Montréal succeeded in securing a municipal declaration of solidarity with Palestinians.
It did not secure council approval for suspending ties with Israel.
And it did not secure approval for the original language accusing Israel of apartheid or genocide.
The final result therefore represents a political compromise between councilors who wanted Montreal to make a forceful statement about the conflict and an administration that argued city hall should prioritize social cohesion and remain within the limits of municipal governance.
For Montreal’s Jewish community, removing the most controversial provisions significantly altered the resolution’s substance.
The debate itself, however, underscored how the Israel-Hamas war continues to shape political discourse far beyond federal and provincial legislatures, including inside Canadian municipal governments.
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