Montreal police launch investigation into mock beheading at May Day protest

Demonstrators in Montreal used what appeared to be a guillotine to decapitate a papier mâché effigy of Quebec Labour Minister Jean Boulet.

Montreal police have launched an investigation into a mock beheading of Quebec Labour Minister Jean Boulet that took place during a May Day demonstration over the weekend.

A video circulating widely on social media showed demonstrators using what appears to be a guillotine to decapitate a papier mâché effigy of Boulet. 

In an email to The Canadian Press, Montreal police confirmed they had opened a probe into the incident, but declined to provide further details, citing the ongoing investigation.

Chantal Rouleau, Quebec minister responsible for social solidarity and community action, told The Canadian Press on Monday that while holding protests in Quebec is permitted, ‘’this particular act is despicable.”

“The people who did this really didn’t think about the impact it would have,” she said.

Quebec political leaders also condemned the May 2 incident in statements posted on social media.

“I’m convinced that it’s possible to make progress constructively, without violence or threats,’’ Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette wrote.

Also on social media, Parti Québécois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said he was “as disgusted as he was shocked.”

Quebec Liberal Party leader Charles Milliard wrote that “this type of action has no place in our society.”

The group behind the mock decapitation is called Alliance Ouvrière — workers’ alliance in English — and described itself online as the “most militant activists” within the labour movement.

In an email to The Canadian Press, the group said it put on a symbolic performance at the International Workers’ Day event, explaining it was aimed at expressing anger toward political and economic elites. 

It also pointed to labour grievances involving Minister Jean Boulet, saying that in January 2025, he “allowed Amazon to lay off over 4,500 workers without intervention.” The group called this an example of “the real violence of elites” that leaves “broken lives and shattered families.” The group added that, in this context, it is “normal to see people revolt.”

The group stated that it believed “the vast majority of those present understood and supported” its message, and that it is time for “people to hold those in power accountable before the situation worsens.”

“The working class is done apologizing,” Alliance Ouvrière concluded in its statement.

According to Fréchette, the unions ‘’have a responsibility to condemn the acts that occur during a demonstration, which they did promptly.”

Quebec’s major unions, which organized the May Day march, issued a joint statement saying they were not involved in the performance and apologized for the event.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 4, 2026.

Charlotte Glorieux, The Canadian Press

With files from Stéphane Blais