The McGill University pro-Palestinian encampment was an occupation protest which took place on the downtown campus of McGill University, in Montreal, from 27 April to 10 July 2024. It was the first notable Canadian demonstration in the 2024 movement of pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses, which called for universities to cut ties with Israel amid the country's assault on Gaza in the Gaza war. Like many of its predecessors, the protest at McGill took the form of an encampment, a group of tents occupied day and night by protesters.
The encampment was organized by a collective of pro-Palestinian student groups from McGill and the nearby Concordia University. Their demands were for those universities to cut ties with Israel, including by divesting from Israel-related funds such as weapons manufacturers. Roughly 20 tents were initially set up close to the Roddick Gates and encircled by a metal fence. In the following days, the encampment grew to roughly 100 tents. It was equipped with various amenities and hosted daily activities related to the protest. Students and faculty from various Montreal universities, which also included the Université du Québec à Montréal and Université de Montréal, occupied the tents.
McGill University stated that the encampment was illegal and requested police assistance to dismantle it. The university's president, Deep Saini, accused protesters of antisemitism. The encampment was repeatedly described as peaceful. The Superior Court of Quebec rejected two injunction requests against the protest, the second of which was filed by McGill itself. The premier of Quebec, François Legault, joined the university in declaring the encampment illegal and requested police intervention. The encampment was dismantled by McGill on 10 July 2024.
Background Student groups Since the beginning of the Gaza war on 7 October 2023, student groups at Montreal's two English-language universities, McGill and Concordia, have taken on a visible role as they have held protests and demonstrations in support of either Palestine or Israel. On 8 November 2023, an altercation erupted at Concordia after two student groups, Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) Concordia and StartUp Nation, set up neighbouring kiosks in a common space. The former was raising funds for the Gaza humanitarian crisis while the latter sought to raise awareness about hostages held by Hamas. Three injuries were reported and a student was arrested. On 19 December, McGill removed the university's name from its chapter of SPHR after reviewing a since-deleted social media post describing the October 7 attacks in 2023, as "heroic".
Protests against McGill's investments
At McGill University, pro-Palestinian groups have protested against the institution's investments in Israel-related funds, including weapons manufacturers. In a referendum held on 20 November 2023, 78% of participating students voted in favour of a policy calling on the university to cut ties with companies "complicit in genocide", as well as condemn Israel's bombing of the Gaza Strip. McGill threatened to end its agreement with its student union, the Students' Society of McGill University (SSMU), if the latter ratified the policy. This agreement includes the SSMU's funding and their use of the McGill name. The Superior Court of Quebec halted the adoption of the policy after an injunction was filed by a student. On 19 February 2024, a small group of McGill students began a hunger strike to call on the university to divest from Israel. A protester who did not eat for 34 days was eventually sent to the hospital. On 22 February, demonstrators blocked the entrances of McGill's Bronfman building, where the Desautels Faculty of Management is located, to protest against that particular faculty's investments in Israel.
Composition of McGill's endowment fund
On 18 April 2024, two of McGill's pro-Palestinian student groups published a data set compiling 50 Israel-related companies that the university held investments in as of 31 December 2023. These investments, which were publicly disclosed on McGill's website, totalled at least $73 million. Of this amount, more than $5.5 million were invested in military technology companies which have contracts with the IDF, including Lockheed Martin, Thales, Safran, Dassault, Airbus and BAE Systems. Multiple other companies who operate in Israeli settlements, as well as large Canadian banks, listed because of their own investments in weapons manufacturers, appear in the data set. McGill's endowment fund, which is managed by external fund managers hired by the institution, is worth about $1.8 billion in total and created 6.1% of its revenue in 2023. As for Concordia University, it does not publicly disclose its investments.
Encampment protests in the United States
On 17 April 2024, students at Columbia University, in New York City, set up an encampment on their campus as a form of occupation protest against their university's investments in Israel. The next day, Columbia president Minouche Shafik summoned the New York City Police Department (NYPD) to dismantle the encampment, leading to the arrest of over 100 protesters. The event garnered national attention and sparked the creation of pro-Palestinian encampments across the country and the world.
Organizing Pro-Palestinian students in Montreal were directly inspired by the movement of encampment protests taking shape in the United States. The McGill encampment, nicknamed the "liberated zone", was first announced on social media by the McGill and Concordia chapters of Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR). McGill and Concordia chapters of the group Independent Jewish Voices were also organizers.
First day On the morning of 27 April 2024, a Saturday, the McGill administration sent a communique to students in response to social media posts announcing the encampment on campus. The email informed them that encampments were "not permitted on our campus" and that they "can create serious health and safety concerns while increasing the potential for escalation and confrontation". McGill did not initially state whether it would ask for the tents to be forcibly removed.
That same day, sometime after 1:30 PM, around 20 tents were erected on the field behind the Roddick Gates, the main entrance to the McGill campus. Tall metal fences were set up around the encampment and decorated with signs and flags. More than 100 protesters attended the construction process. Sometime before 3:30 PM, another larger group of demonstrators, which had been marching down Rue Sherbrooke, reached the encampment. Much of the group left campus by 7:30 PM. It rained on the first night of the occupation protest.
News media have described the McGill pro-Palestinian encampment as the first of its kind in Canada, although social media posts document a small set of tents on the campus of the University of Alberta, in Edmonton, on 22 April 2024.
Demands
As is the case for other student protests sparked by the Gaza war, the McGill encampment demands that the universities of McGill and Concordia cut financial and academic ties with Israel. This entails the divestment from Israel-related funds, including weapons manufacturers doing business with the IDF and companies operating in Israeli-occupied territories, as well as the cutting of ties with Israeli universities. Additional demands include a public condamnation the Israeli assault on Gaza and the pressuring of the Canadian government in regards to its military ties with Israel, as well as the protection of students' right to protest. In general, the encampment is also described as an act of solidarity with Palestine.
Encampment Location and members
The "liberated zone" was located on the lower field of McGill's campus in downtown Montreal, behind its main entrance through the Roddick Gates, on Rue Sherbrooke. The area is also where McGill usually holds its spring graduation ceremonies. On 1 May 2024, the encampment spanned approximately . From the initial 20 or so tents, it grew to about 100 tents within the first days and comprised more than 115 tents on 13 May 2024. The encampment was mostly inhabited by students from McGill and Concordia, who organized the protest, although Montreal's French-language universities, the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) and Université de Montréal, are also represented. A group of roughly 100 professors also took turns sleeping at the encampment, providing help in the form of advice or laundry services, among other things. Besides the campers, many visitors also spend time on site and drop off supplies.
Structure and installation According to protesters, the encampment developed an organizational structure, including a code of conduct with rules addressing issues such as hate speech and discrimination. Campers held a general assembly every morning, discussing the current events in Gaza and other subjects related to the protest. According to McGill, the group of protesters is non-hierarchical.
The protesters' tents were located inside a fenced-in area. The makeshift barricade was reinforced in the first week, after key figures called on the encampment to be dismantled. Reporters were not allowed past the fences. In front of the entrance, protesters welcomed visitors coming to drop off supplies, which included food, batteries, clothes, medicine and rain boots. The exterior portion of the encampment was extended with sun shelters, kiosks and a small stage where a microphone and speakers can be installed. A "free store" served coffee, food and rain gear. Because of a largely rainy first week, campers dug trenches, scooped water out with plastic pitchers and placed wooden pallets over the muddy lawn to provide walkways between the tents. Other amenities in the encampment included a library, a medical tent with trained personnel, community and prayer spaces, a generator and portable toilets. Montreal's fire department, the Service de sécurité incendie de Montréal (SIM), inspected the encampment and concluded that it was safe.
Activities Many activities were held in and around the encampment. They have included poetry readings, music performances, lectures on Palestinian history, celebrations of Passover, debates, discussions, quilting and self-defence practice. A large screen had been set up outside of the encampment for films to be screened on. Palestinian films and The Battle of Algiers (1966) have been shown. A play zone for kids to make crafts was also set up on some days. On 5 May 2024, Red Dress Day in Canada, events were planned to commemorate missing and murdered Indigenous women. Organizers published a schedule of activities daily.
Unfolding Response from McGill University
On the first day of the protest, before tents were set up, McGill emailed a communique to students stating that encampments were "not permitted". After the tents were installed, McGill representatives requested for them to be removed, which protesters refused to do. That day, McGill declined to state whether the tents would be forcibly removed and did not request police assistance, according to Montreal's police department, the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM).