Montreal Anti-Insult Bylaw 2026 — $350 Fines for Insulting Police, and Nobody Can Define an Insult

Quebec civil liberties news — Montreal city council voted 35–25 on September 21 to pass the Montreal Anti-Insult Bylaw, making it illegal to insult police officers and municipal employees, with fines of $350 to $1,000 for a first offence — and the bylaw never actually defines what an “insult” is.

By Maplestime Politics Desk | Quebec, Canada | September 24, 2026

Sources: City of Montreal; Canadian Civil Liberties Association | Last updated: September 24, 2026

Key Takeaways

• The vote: 35 in favour, 25 opposed, after more than half an hour of debate at the September 21 council meeting.
• The fines: $350–$1,000 for a first offence, doubling up to $2,000 for repeat offenders.
• The scope: insults, harassment, threats, abuse, intimidation, and “offensive, humiliating, abusive, violent or aggressive behaviour” toward any on-duty city employee.
• The catch: the Montreal Anti-Insult Bylaw never defines what counts as an insult — which is exactly what has civil liberties groups alarmed.

What the Montreal Anti-Insult Bylaw Actually Does

The Montreal Anti-Insult Bylaw covers every on-duty municipal employee — from SPVM police officers on patrol to the clerk behind the counter at city hall. Direct insults, harassment, threats, abuse or intimidation at one of them, or engage in what the text calls “offensive, humiliating, abusive, violent or aggressive behaviour,” and you can be handed a ticket of $350 to $1,000. Do it again, and the fine doubles, up to $2,000.

Here is the part that should make every Montrealer pause: nowhere in the bylaw does it say what an insult actually is. The city is asking its officers and employees to enforce a standard that the text itself never sets. That is not a small drafting detail — it is the entire ballgame, because “insult” means very different things to different people, especially in a heated moment on the street.

A 35–25 Vote and a “Half-Baked” Bylaw

After more than half an hour of debate at the September 21 council meeting, the vote landed at 35 in favour and 25 opposed — a clear majority, but a divided council. The official opposition dismissed the Montreal Anti-Insult Bylaw as “half-baked,” arguing it was rushed through without the careful definitions such a law demands.

Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada pushed hard for adoption, and tried to reassure residents that ordinary rudeness would not land them a ticket. “Giving the middle finger, it’s not what will give you a ticket… Let’s just be honest. There’s bigger issues in terms of the attitude of some citizens.” That reassurance may comfort some Montrealers — but a mayor’s promise is not the same as a written definition, and promises do not hold up in court.

The city’s police union is firmly behind the bylaw. Union head Yves Francœur said members had been pushing for this for years. City hall’s argument is practical as much as principled: the steady stream of insults directed at officers is making it harder to recruit new ones.

The Viral Video That Started It All

The trigger was a social-media video from March showing a young motorist being aggressive toward SPVM officers, complete with misogynistic comments. The clip made the rounds, the outrage followed, and the city says enough was enough. The motorist was charged in July with defamatory libel and has pleaded not guilty.

One ugly video, in other words, helped birth a law that now applies to every interaction between Montrealers and their city employees. That is a heavy legislative response to a single incident — and it is worth asking whether the Montreal Anti-Insult Bylaw’s $2,000 fines would have changed anything about the person in that video.

Civil Liberties Groups Sound the Alarm

The pushback has been sharp. Anaïs Bussières McNicoll of the Quebec branch of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association warned of a dangerous power imbalance: a vague law enforced by the very authorities it protects opens the door to arbitrary and discriminatory measures — and she pointed specifically to the risk for Black, Indigenous and Arab communities, who already report disproportionate police scrutiny.

Lynda Khelil of the League of Rights and Freedoms and Fernando Belton of the Saint-Michel Legal Clinic also opposed the measure, citing free expression — and the fact that there was no public consultation before council voted. A law this broad, touching something as fundamental as speech, passed without asking the public first. That alone tells you something about how this council operates.

The Montreal Anti-Insult Bylaw is now on the books. The first test will come when an officer decides, in the moment, that someone crossed a line the bylaw never drew. Watch that case closely — it will define this law more than any council speech did.

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Should insulting a police officer cost you $1,000 — or is a law that can’t even define an insult just an invitation for abuse? Tell us in the comments. And share this with every Canadian who still believes free speech means something.