QUÉBEC — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has met with the families of six men who were killed at a Quebec City mosque, days before the anniversary of the 2017 attack.
Eight years ago, on Jan. 29, 2017, Alexandre Bissonnette killed six men at the Centre culturel islamique du Québec and this year the centre has planned several events to mark the tragedy.
Trudeau met in the basement of the mosque on Saturday evening with men, women and children whose relatives were victims of the slayings, pausing to speak with each of them individually and at times could be seen placing his hand over his heart.
He told one person that he hoped to meet with them again at a time when he wasn't travelling with a large group.
Earlier on Saturday afternoon Quebec City’s Muslim community, government officials and others gathered at the Quebec City Armoury to commemorate the victims.
Mohamed Labidi, president of the Centre culturel islamique du Québec, said it was important to remember those who were killed and injured as well as the ignorance that led to their killings.
“It's a duty to remember those who lost their lives in an unjust and intolerable way,” he said in an interview Saturday, adding that the killings were the result of ignorance.
In the aftermath of the shooting over 50 Muslims left the province of Quebec for Ontario but the level of tension in the community has since decreased considerably, Labidi said.
Quebec City Mayor Bruno Marchand took to the stage during the event at the armoury, and spoke about overcoming hardship, loss and division through community action and optimism for the future.
“If we don’t feed hope I don’t think we honour what we’ve lost,” he said.
Amira Elghawaby, Canada’s Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia, was also among those in attendance at the armoury event.
“Canadian Muslims had been warning officials for years that the growing hate and islamophobia in our country posed a real danger to our safety and well-being,” she said. “Jan. 29 represented our worst nightmares come true.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 25, 2025.
The Canadian Press