Nathalie Provost

The Honourable
Nathalie Provost
PC MP
Secretary of State (Nature)
Incumbent
Assumed office
May 13, 2025
Prime MinisterMark Carney
Preceded byPosition established
Member of Parliament
for Châteauguay—Les Jardins-de-Napierville
Incumbent
Assumed office
April 28, 2025
Preceded byBrenda Shanahan
Personal details
Born1965 or 1966 (age 58–59)
NationalityCanadian
Political partyLiberal
Known forGun control activism

Nathalie Provost PC MP is a Canadian engineer, gun control advocate, and politician. She survived being shot during the 1989 École Polytechnique massacre. Provost and other survivors founded the PolySeSouvient gun-control advocacy group, for which she served as a spokesperson. She has continued as an activist for gun control and to reduce violence against women. From 2017 to 2019 Provost served as vice-chair of the Government's Canadian Firearms Registry, but resigned because of belief they were not strong enough. She works as an engineering civil servant for the government of Quebec. With Provost's permission, Canadian author Louise Penny featured her as a character in her 2022 novel A World of Curiosities.

A member of the Liberal Party, she has been a member of Parliament for Châteauguay—Les Jardins-de-Napierville since 2025.

Biography

Provost was born in 1965 or 1966.[1] She was a 23-year old[1] mechanical engineering student at École Polytechnique de Montréal in 1989. On 6 December of that year, Marc Lépine, armed with a rifle, interrupted a lecture, shot the ceiling, and ordered the approximately 50 male students to leave the room. Nine female students, including Provost, remained.[2][3] Lépine told the women he was there to fight feminism; Provost responded that they were students, not activists. Lépine shot the women, killing six and injuring three, including Provost.[3][4] She received four gun shots to her head and leg,[1] and cautioned her fellow injured students to play dead.[5] The gunman continued to other floors, killing a total of 14 women, including one staff person, and wounding 10 others, plus four men.[6]: 30 [4] This was the deadliest mass murder in modern Canadian history until the 2020 Nova Scotia attacks. At the end, Lépine shot himself, committing suicide.[7] Provost returned to her studies one month later. She completed her bachelor's degree in 1990, and earned her master's degree at the same university.[8]

Provost worked as an engineer in the civil service[8] for the Government of Quebec.[1] In 2022 Provost received an honorary doctorate degree from École Polytechnique. The university credited her for her “remarkable achievements, driven by uncommon determination and social values, [and] for the example of audacity that she embodies for the new generation of engineers in Quebec, in Canada and around the world.”[8] She has four children.[8] She has had to deal with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) since the attacks.[7] In 2022, writer Louise Penny sought and obtained Provost's permission to include her as a character in her novel A World of Curiosities.[9]

Since April 28th 2025, she has been elected as the Member of Parliament for Châteauguay—Les Jardins-de-Napierville. On May 13th, she was appointed by Mark Carney as Secretary of State (Nature).

Activism

After the shooting, Provost embraced the feminist label, describing it as a "beautiful title."[10][11] With other survivors of the attack, she formed the gun-control advocacy group PolySeSouvient, and became one of the two spokespersons.[12] In 2009, she advocated to retain the Canadian Firearms Registry, opposing plans that were eventually implemented by the Government of Stephen Harper in 2012.[1] In 2017, Provost was appointed as vice-chair of the Canadian Government's Canadian Firearms Registry; she resigned in 2019, citing dissatisfaction with what she described as the government's timid approach to gun control.[13] In 2021, she urged federal politicians to reject firearms regulations proposed by the Liberal government, which she considered to be too weak.[14] In 2022, Provost denounced the Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights for using the discount code "POLY" for its online sales.[12][15] Her complaints prompted a barrage of online abuse, including sexual and violent threats.[5]

Political career

On March 21, 2025, Provost announced that she would run as the Liberal Party of Canada candidate in Châteauguay—Les Jardins-de-Napierville in the 2025 Canadian federal election.[16] She was elected, winning 45% of the vote, by more than 10 000 voices.[17]

Electoral record

2025 Canadian federal election: Châteauguay—Les Jardins-de-Napierville
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Liberal 28,224 45.16 +8.65
Bloc Québécois Patrick O'Hara 18,160 29.06 -7.53
Conservative David De Repentigny 13,538 21.66 +9.50
New Democratic Hannah Wolker 1,377 2.20 -5.62
Green Martine Desrochers 773 1.24 -0.25
People's Nicolas Guérin 429 0.69 -3.08
Total valid votes/expense limit 62,501 98.46
Total rejected ballots 975 1.54
Turnout 63,476 69.36
Eligible voters 91,519
Liberal notional gain from Bloc Québécois Swing +8.09
Source: Elections Canada[18][19]
Note: number of eligible voters does not include voting day registrations.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Scott, Marian (6 December 2014). "Polytechnique massacre: Lives forever changed". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  2. ^ Cernea, Adrian (1999). Poly 1989: Témoin de l'horreur. Éditions Lescop. ISBN 2-9804832-8-1.
  3. ^ a b Boileau, Josée (2020). Because They Were Women: The Montreal Massacre. Second Story Press. pp. 26–27. ISBN 978-1-77260-143-5.
  4. ^ a b Lachapelle, Judith (6 December 2019). "Polytechnique: le récit d'une tragédie". La Presse (in French). Archived from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  5. ^ a b Adrienne Arsenault, 6 December 2022, Montreal Massacre survivor targeted by online hate, CBC's The National.
  6. ^ Boileau, Josée (2020). Because They Were Women: The Montreal Massacre. Second Story Press. p. 30. ISBN 978-1-77260-143-5.
  7. ^ a b "'It takes a long while to recover:' Montreal Massacre survivor on learning to live with tragedy". CBC. 24 April 2020.
  8. ^ a b c d Lowrie, Morgan (16 June 2022). "École Polytechnique shooting survivor Nathalie Provost to receive honorary doctorate". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  9. ^ Godyear, Sheena (5 December 2022). "How a Montreal Massacre survivor became a character in a Louise Penny detective novel". CBC.
  10. ^ Boileau, Josée (2020). Because They Were Women: The Montreal Massacre. Second Story Press. pp. 130–1. ISBN 978-1-77260-143-5.
  11. ^ Camille, Chaudron (28 November 2014). "Vingt-cinq ans plus tard avec Nathalie Provost". Le Polyscope (in French). Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  12. ^ a b "Polytechnique mass shooting survivor slams gun rights group for using 'POLY' promo code". CBC. 2 December 2022.
  13. ^ Bronskill, Jim (17 July 2019). "Shooting survivor quits panel over 'timid' Liberal record on assault-style guns". Canada's National Observer. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  14. ^ Bronskill, Jim (26 March 2021). "Gun-control advocates press MPs to vote against Liberal firearms bill". Canada's National Observer. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  15. ^ https://www.montrealgazette.com/sports/article115943.html
  16. ^ "Nathalie Provost, porte-parole de PolySeSouvient, sera candidate pour le PLC". 21 March 2025.
  17. ^ "Châteauguay—Les Jardins-de-Napierville live federal election results". Toronto Star. 29 April 2025. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
  18. ^ "Voter information service". Elections Canada. Retrieved 3 May 2025.
  19. ^ "Election Night Results - Electoral Districts". Elections Canada. Retrieved 3 May 2025.
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