Climate marches planned across Quebec, 5 years since Greta Thunberg marched in Montreal

Five years ago today, the world spotlight was on Montreal as 500,000 people took to the streets and demanded action to fight climate change – marching alongside Greta Thunberg.

A sea of about half a million people took to downtown Montreal on September 27, 2019 – from the very young, to students, parents, teachers, and many more.

“People as far as you can see and being at the front of that it was crazy there was a lot of tears and smiles because we had worked for months,” said Emma Lim, an activist with Climate Strike Canada, in 2020 as she recalled the 2019 march.

Thunberg met with Canadian politicians who made promises, but the students behind the movement say government action over the last year falls short.

“We organized the biggest protest in the history of the country how is it that no government pays attention when it comes to policy? It’s really discouraging and shows us we need to go further,” Albert Lalonde, co-spokesperson with Ceves Climate Action Group, told CityNews previously.

Many across Quebec are expected to come together Friday for more Climate Strikes, in about two dozen cities, with one planned by Pour la suite du monde in Montreal starting at 6 p.m. at the Monument George-Étienne Cartier.

This all comes as Quebec experienced a summer of extreme weather with heat waves, heavy rains and flooding from the remnants of hurricanes south of the border. It was the rainiest season ever recorded in the city.

In the summer of 2023, forest fires in the north of Quebec caused smog that blanketed many parts of the province – with Montreal even ranking among the worst air quality in the world, and even topping the list at one point.

In addition to demanding more be done in response to the climate crisis, Friday’s marches will also aim to highlight how society needs to be consulted about solutions that will affect them for generations to come.