The staff and Council members of the Advisory Council on the Status of Women offer our appreciation to the many people who contributed to the 2025 Purple Ribbon Campaign Against Violence Against Women, including the Montreal Massacre Memorial Service, held on December 5th, 2025.
Each year we remember and honour the 14 women who died in Montreal on December 6th, 1989. We remember and honour the 10 women who have been murdered in PEI since then. We remember and honour the thousands of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls across Canada. We remember and honour all who are suffering gender-based violence.
As community leaders, service providers, and survivors of violence we come together to mourn and work for change. We gather to call attention to the terrible epidemic of gender-based violence worldwide and announce forcefully that shame must change sides. We find comfort with one another as we remember victims of violence and recommit to acting to end violence in our homes and communities.
We are especially grateful to the family members of murdered PEI women who light candles in their honour. It is our hope that in collectively mourning and remembering, there is some solace for you. We are also grateful to those who contribute their experiences, their voices, their traditions and their skills toward making the Memorial Service so special.
Together we can lift the heavy burden of shame. Shame that does not belong to those who are victims of violence. Together we recommit to preventing gender-based violence and supporting survivors and communities to heal.
