Demonstrators in Montreal gathered over the weekend to protest the actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), criticizing the agency’s tactics and implicating Canadian involvement. The protest took place outside the U.S. Consulate in downtown Montreal, sparked by recent incidents where federal agents in Minneapolis were involved in the deaths of two American citizens.
Michael Lipset, a co-organizer who has been a Montreal resident since 2016 and hails from Minneapolis and Saint Paul, emphasized that the violence perpetrated by ICE in the U.S. will not be accepted in any location. Lipset highlighted Canadian companies such as Hootsuite, Roshel, and GardaWorld that have business connections with ICE, calling out Quebec and Canada for their indirect role in supporting such actions.
Protesters, equipped with winter gear and megaphones, marched in front of the U.S. consular building on Sainte-Catherine Street before proceeding to Dorchester Square. Chants of “From Minnesota to Montreal, we won’t stop until ICE falls” echoed through the streets. Lynn Worrell expressed her solidarity with Americans opposing ICE enforcement tactics in various U.S. cities, emphasizing the need for Canada to halt military equipment exports to agencies that could misuse them.
Worrell stated, “We are complicit in supporting ICE,” pointing out the presence of Roshel-made armoured vehicles during the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, a nurse who was recording an immigration operation. The weekend’s rally was part of a series of demonstrations occurring in different locations. In Vancouver, protesters called on Hootsuite to terminate contracts linked to ICE, following reports of contracts valued up to $2.8 million US. Similar strikes against immigration policies were organized across the U.S., coinciding with the outrage surrounding recent deaths involving ICE officers.