Hundreds march in Montreal for Earth Day to protest environmental and social-program cuts

Community groups gathered at Place des Festivals ahead of Earth Day to urge governments not to weaken environmental regulations.

Hundreds of people gathered Saturday afternoon at Montreal’s Place des Festivals for Earth Day, protesting budget cuts by various levels of government to the social safety net and environmental protections.

The event, organized by a coalition of five environmental groups, began with several artistic performances and a fair where about 20 organizations set up booths to raise awareness about actions people can take. Participants then began a march through the streets of the city to make their call for change heard.

“We’re really seeing setbacks from our governments, both federal and provincial, and with our slogan ‘Not one more cut,’ we want to push back against all these cuts, like the cancellation of the carbon tax or Quebec’s delayed targets,” said coalition spokesperson Shirley Barnea.

“We also see setbacks for democracy, like federal Bills C-5 and C-15, which allow ministers to get around laws already passed by Parliament.”

This year’s event aimed to be more positive than previous editions by highlighting organizations working to fight climate change.

“We didn’t want to stay in the negative, because there are so many great projects already in place,” Barnea added. “We want to show people that another world is already possible and that we don’t need to wait for our leaders to start the transition.”

Mères au front was among the groups present. For Sylvie Cantin, a coordinator with the organization’s South Shore chapter, it’s important to show that people can fight climate change in a positive way.

“We want governments to take the environment into account in every decision, but right now, the focus isn’t on the environment because of wars and what’s happening in the United States,” Cantin said.

“Polls show people are extremely worried about the environment, but political parties only think short-term.”

She is concerned about many children “checking out” of environmental advocacy because they feel overwhelmed by the current state of things.

“Unfortunately, we hear many young people saying they won’t have children because the future isn’t good enough, but at the same time, we have to keep hope, and if we act, we can reverse the situation,” Cantin added.

Several political parties — including Québec Solidaire (QS), Projet Montréal and the New Democratic Party (NDP) — were present at the event. The Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ), Parti Québécois (PQ) and Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) were notably absent.

“We’re here to remind people that we need to make the right political choices to break our dependence on fossil fuels. The Quebec government wants to take us backwards, when what we need today is massive investment in public transit and renewable energy,” said QS spokesperson Ruba Ghazal. “And we especially need to shut the door on shale gas.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on April 18, 2026.