MONTREAL - Montreal city council is set to debate a motion calling on the city to suspend institutional ties with the Israeli government, a move supporters say could mark a significant step in municipal action over the war in Gaza.
The proposal has received the backing of Montreal Anti-Apartheid, a campaign launched during the city's 2025 municipal election, though it falls short of the group's broader demands, explained co-founder Sepideh Anvar.
The campaign wants Montreal to cut, rather than suspend, institutional ties with Israel. Its broader demands include divesting from Israeli entities and companies it says contribute to apartheid and genocide, boycotting Israeli representatives and providing greater support to Palestinian refugees.
Anvar, who described the motion as a first step, said suspending institutional ties could mean Israeli government representatives would no longer be invited to Montreal city hall and municipal officials would not accept paid trips, gifts or meals from Israel.
"In a campaign where we can barely get even symbolic gestures of solidarity with Palestine, the fact that the City of Montreal, one of the largest cities in North America, is preparing to do something concrete, to suspend ties, is astonishing," she said.
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, which advocates on behalf of Jewish federations across Canada, is calling on Montreal councillors to vote down the motion. The organization says the proposal risks deepening divisions in the city and argues municipal leaders should prioritize local concerns such as housing, homelessness, infrastructure and public safety.
The motion has drawn support from more than 700 Quebec artists, cultural workers and organizations, who signed a declaration urging city councillors to vote in favour.
The campaign was organized by the Quebec Artists Against Apartheid Club, whose supporters include people working in film, television, theatre, music, literature and the visual arts.Â
Emilie Manering, a co-founder of the club who helped organize the campaign, said the effort was partly intended to demonstrate support for Palestinians within Quebec's cultural community.
"Artists are also citizens. We are citizens first and foremost," Manering said.
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs has also raised concerns about the motion in the context of antisemitism and recent incidents targeting Montreal’s Jewish community. The CIJA says thousands of Montrealers opposed an earlier version of the proposal in June, which was initially scheduled for debate that month but was postponed until August.
Both Anvar and Manering disputed the argument that international affairs fall outside the responsibilities of a municipal government.
Manering said the motion would not distract from local issues, while Anvar pointed to Montreal’s history of opposing apartheid in South Africa, including a 1987 decision to deny contracts to companies that profited from the regime.
Manering and Anvar hope Montreal's vote could encourage other ºÃÉ«tv municipalities to take similar action.Â
This report by ºÃÉ«tvwas first published Aug. 24, 2026.
