December 6, 1989
14 roses
On December 6, 1989, a crazed 25-year-old gunman opened fire and killed 14 people — 13 students and a Polytechnique employee — and wounded several others before taking his own life.
On December 6, 2009, a commemorative event marking the 20th anniversary of the tragedy took place at Notre-Dame Basilica in Montréal. At this sombre secular ceremony, Polytechnique remembered the 14 victims of the drama and the impact it had on their families and friends. Attending the event were relatives of the victims, professors, personnel, alumni, students and former employees, as well as their families. The ceremony’s theme was Dans nos cœurs demeure le souvenir, dans nos mains fleurit l’avenir (The memory lives in our hearts, the future blooms in our hands).
The anniversary of these tragic events has become Canada’s National Day of Commemoration and Action on Violence against Women.
December 6, 2014 marked the 25th anniversary of the tragedy. On this occasion, Polytechnique Montréal inaugurated the first week of the White rose.
On December 6 every year, 14 white roses are placed near Polytechnique’s plaque commemorating the victims:
Geneviève Bergeron (born 1968)
Mechanical engineering student
Hélène Colgan (born 1966)
Mechanical engineering student
Nathalie Croteau (born 1966)
Mechanical engineering student
Barbara Daigneault (born 1967)
Mechanical engineering student
Anne-Marie Edward (born 1968)
Chemical engineering student
Maud Haviernick (born 1960)
Metallurgical engineering student
Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz (born 1958)
Nursing student (Université de Montréal)
Maryse Laganière (born 1964)
Employee, Finance department
Maryse Leclair (born 1966)
Metallurgical engineering student
Anne-Marie Lemay (born 1967)
Mechanical engineering student
Sonia Pelletier (born 1961)
Mechanical engineering student
Michèle Richard (born 1968)
Metallurgical engineering student
Annie St-Arneault (born 1966)
Mechanical engineering student
Annie Turcotte (born 1969)
Metallurgical engineering student