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December 6th marks the anniversary of the murder of 14 women at the l'École Polytechnique de Montréal in 1989. On that day, a man walked into an Engineering class at l’École Polytechnique de Montréal and committed a violent misogynist act. Following this event, Canada established December 6th as the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women, a day to reflect on and take action against gender-based violence.

2026 Memorial and Vigil

SFU Surrey campus: Friday, December 4 2026

  • 10:30am-11:15am: Memorial Event: E Building Atrium

SFU Burnaby campus: Monday, December 7 2026

  • 12:15pm-12:30pm, Vigil: Memorial Bench, outside of the Faculty of Applied Sciences Building
  • 12:45pm-1:30pm, Memorial Event: SUB Ballroom, SFU Burnaby Campus  

Join an in-person memorial to remember and honour the victims of this tragedy and to recommit to ending gender-based violence in our communities. This year, December 6 falls on a Sunday, so most SFU offices will be closed. Instead, we are holding the Surrey event on December 4 and the Burnaby event on December 7.

Wear a button to show your support

You are invited to wear a button to support the elimination of gender-based violence. To get a postcard and button, please visit the following locations during business hours from November 20 to December 6:

  • SFU Burnaby: Student Central (MBC 3000)
  • SFU Surrey: Registrar & Information Services (SRYC Mezzanine)
  • SFU Vancouver: Registrar & Information Services (Harbour Centre 1100)

How to Discuss December 6 with Your Classes

To encourage and support SFU faculty members to initiate conversations on the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women in their classrooms, the Centre for Educational Excellence (CEE) has prepared a "classroom approaches" handout. We encourage you to invite your classroom to the SFU memorial happening on December 5th or to visit the campus displays, and continue the conversation on gender-based violence prevention. Download it below.