Montreal has been reckoning with misogyny since a gunman walked into École Polytechnique on Dec. 6, 1989, separated out the men, and murdered 14 women simply because they were women.
The shooter left behind a hit list of prominent feminists and an ugly screed. But since those women were difficult to access, he took out his resentment on victims who represented everything he hated.
It took a long time before we were ready to call it a femicide, even if it was obvious from the first frigid night. But we’ve spent the last 37 years defying the sinister motives of a killer: creating new opportunities for women in male-dominated fields; promoting equality; advocating for gun control; fighting all forms of violence against women; and honouring the legacies of the dead with scholarships and bursaries that lift new generations of trailblazers.
This was necessary and important. It provided some measure of healing and a way to transform grief into something meaningful.
But it has become increasingly clear this is no longer enough to combat the misogyny that fuelled the massacre. Hatred of women is on the rise again. If anything, it’s more poisonous than ever — and more pervasive.
Protesters demonstrate against incel ideology on Thursday, June 25, 2026, three days after the shootout in Côte-des-Neiges. A new report by the federal parliamentary Standing Committee on the Status of Women reveals antifeminist ideologies are rampant in the echo chambers of the internet and young men are highly susceptible. Allen McInnis / Montreal Gazette
As a new report by the federal parliamentary Standing Committee on the Status of Women reveals, antifeminist ideologies are rampant in the echo chambers of the internet and young men are highly susceptible, whether they are deeply troubled or merely insecure. A few haphazard clicks and algorithms that serve up a diet of toxic content push many down a slippery slope into the manosphere.
There, they find regressive ideas about women and gender equality — and sometimes even more extreme views. There, the concept of male dominance is peddled by masculinist influencers and predatory tech companies. There, they are taught to blame women for their problems or inadequacies and are brainwashed with a sense of biological entitlement.
Now, instead of one angry man stewing alone in his own rancour, social media and video games bring together like-minded individuals to reinforce macho attitudes, recruit new converts and normalize misogyny.
That doesn’t mean everyone who falls down this rabbit hole will pick up a weapon and commit murder. But it’s unhealthy nonetheless — for young men, society at large, and the women we’ve been trying to protect, nurture and elevate.
A memorial at École Polytechnique lists the 14 women who were murdered in the Dec. 6, 1989 massacre. We’ve spent the last 37 years defying the sinister motives of a killer, but our efforts are not enough to combat misogyny, Allison Hanes writes. Tyrel Featherstone / Montreal Gazette files
The repercussions are serious. It’s driving a wedge between young generations of men and women, undermining intimate relationships, contaminating public discourse, increasing political polarization, and turning back the clock on women’s rights.
It also fuels other kinds of hate — against minorities of different gender identities, races and religions.
And it does raise the risk of violence, be it in intimate relationships or against society at large. It can also be a stepping stone to radicalization.
The report describes antifeminism as “one of the fastest-growing extremist ideologies in the West.” It contains warnings from CSIS that misogynist views can be a gateway to other warped philosophies that threaten national security.
A Montreal police officer tells pedestrians to take cover during an active shooter situation in Côte-des-Neiges on Monday, June 22, 2026. Evan Buhler / Montreal Gazette
Only a week after the report was quietly tabled, we saw the dangers it foretold play out tragically in the streets of Montreal. A young man from Alberta with a grudge and a gun apparently acted on a mishmash of grievances — another wake-up call about misogyny in our midst.
During a shootout in Côte-des-Neiges, Const. Mohamed Lamine Benredouane lost his life, the first Montreal police officer killed in the line of duty in 24 years. A bystander, Michel Mizrahi, also died, though he may have been caught in the crossfire while trying to guide bystanders to safety. And another Montreal officer — a woman — was seriously wounded.
After the gunman was dispatched by police, a 104-page manifesto was uncovered, suggesting he’d been influenced by aspects of incel culture, in which men blame women for their lack of sexual prowess. The document seems to be Exhibit A for the cross-pollination and convergence of antiwoman, antifeminist, anti-Zionist, anticapitalist, antipornography, antisocial, antipolice and antidemocratic sentiment described by the committee.
But that’s where it ends, not where it starts.
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According to the report, which is the fruit of written briefs and testimony by more than two dozen organizations, groups, agencies and individuals, it often begins with lonely boys and struggling young men who lack positive male role models and are vulnerable to exploitation.
It stems from widening socio-economic disparities and increasing political polarization. It is perpetuated by powerful interests and predatory corporations in the pursuit of profit.
In other words, misogyny is everywhere, out in the open, and being actively normalized.
Its effects are apparent in classrooms, from primary schools to universities. It’s on display in locker rooms and gyms, where bro culture can quickly morph into something malignant — and far-right groups have recently been grooming men to join white supremacist movements.
We should be worried about the effect of these disturbing attitudes on our daughters after all these years of trying to make them safer. But we should be equally concerned about our sons being corrupted by toxic masculinity.
Not to absolve anyone of responsibility, but some young men may lack the judgment to see through these well-oiled narratives, the report states, or their resistance may be eroded by groupthink.
The committee offered 14 recommendations to repel the long reach of misogyny, from laws that hold tech companies accountable for the harmful content they push, to bolstering local media to counter disinformation, to ensuring there is more diversity in leadership roles, including greater representation by women and minorities.
But the simplest and most urgent need is for greater awareness, not only among parents, teachers, decision-makers and public-opinion shapers, but young men and women themselves.
“Prebunking,” the report suggests, “involves educating people before they are exposed to misinformation or violent messages, so that they are better prepared and able to think critically about these issues.”
There’s no cure for this scourge. But there’s no choice other than to inoculate a generation against misogyny — in hopes of putting antifeminists, masculinists, alphas, incels, extremists, creeps, losers or whatever you want to call them back in their place.
I started at The Montreal Gazette in 2000 as an intern. Since then I have covered the National Assembly and courts, worked on the assignment desk and written editorials, before debuting as city columnist in 2017.
ahanes@postmedia.com