Montreal Police Fire Seven Officers in Historic Move — But the Union Is Already Fighting Back

Photo: Jonalongnose / Wikimedia Commons (freely licensed) — File photo: an SPVM patrol vehicle outside Station 11 in Montreal, 2020. Not a photo of the officers dismissed in November 2026.

On Monday afternoon, Montreal's police chief did something his force had never done before. Chief Fady Dagher announced that seven officers of the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal — the SPVM — had been fired, all at once, over allegations of racism, discrimination and mistreatment of vulnerable people. He called the move unprecedented. He also called it sad.

The seven will no longer wear the uniform, carry a weapon or serve Montreal, Dagher said, according to The Canadian Press. Their names have not been released. No criminal charges have been laid. And by Tuesday, the officers' union was promising to challenge the firings. Accountability arrived fast this week — and the fight over how it arrived is only starting.

What Dagher actually announced

The dismissals were administrative, not criminal. Dagher said the force worked with the city's lawyers to revoke the officers' accreditation and security clearance over alleged failures to uphold the code of conduct. In a CityNews interview on Tuesday, he pointed to Article 115 of Quebec's police law, which he said lets him act when he no longer trusts an officer to wear the uniform and carry a gun.

Five of the seven worked out of Station 39 in Montréal-Nord; two worked out of Station 21 downtown. Six had already been suspended during the investigations. "To the victims of unacceptable conduct by (Montreal) police officers, I promised you truth and consequences," Dagher told reporters. "You have truth, to the extent the investigation allows it, and you have consequences."

The two stations behind the headlines

Station 39 has been at the centre of this scandal since June, when the SPVM dismantled a 16-officer patrol team there. Dagher confirmed earlier this year that the allegations included claims that officers cut the hair of racialized civilians during stops and kept the locks as trophies, according to The Canadian Press. It is an allegation about humiliation by people in uniform, against people with little power to answer back.

Station 21 is murkier, and honesty demands saying so plainly. La Presse has reported that one downtown officer allegedly urinated on a homeless person and another allegedly posed for photos mocking people under arrest. The Canadian Press has explicitly not confirmed those details. Dagher said his information concerned a "dishonourable act of a similar nature, but not on a human," and that the media report was being investigated by Quebec's police watchdog. Treat the specific Station 21 acts as reported allegations, not findings. Likewise, a Radio-Canada report that an officer erased evidence from a domestic-violence complainant's phone is unverified by The Canadian Press, and Dagher did not confirm whether that officer was among the seven.

Why he acted before any criminal charges

The SPVM has sent its files to Quebec's Crown prosecution office, the Directeur des poursuites criminelles et pénales (DPCP), which will decide whether criminal charges follow. Disciplinary and ethics processes are also still open. Dagher's argument to CityNews was blunt: waiting would have left officers he no longer trusted on the street. "We had accumulated so much evidence on those files," he said. "When the community don't trust you, you lose your legitimacy."

He was candid that the dismissals might not survive a challenge. "I don't know if they're going to contest, but let's see what the court will decide," he said. "I cannot speak for the court, but we have very good evidence." Station 39 has roughly 126 to 128 officers, he noted, so five dismissals are a small fraction of a station feeling every new headline. A new action plan co-built with the community is due at the end of November or in December, and he could not confirm that no further officers would be sanctioned.

The union fight — and what happens next

By Tuesday, the Montreal police brotherhood had answered. Its president, Yves Francoeur, wrote that the officers' alleged actions would profoundly violate police values if substantiated — then argued the dismissal method itself was the problem, calling it "entirely unprecedented" and, in the union's view, "clearly non-compliant," and promising to defend the rule of law. CBC reported on November 4 that the union intends to challenge the firings. One wrinkle: the SPVM said on Tuesday afternoon it had no indication the officers were contesting — but that response appeared dated before Francoeur's letter, according to The Canadian Press.

Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada praised the decision as an "unprecedented" step toward rebuilding trust: "Nobody is above the rules." Joel DeBellefeuille of the Red Coalition called for an independent public inquiry, writing that "seven dismissals cannot be considered a sufficient institutional response to allegations of this magnitude." Dagher framed it as a broken silence: "the silence is broken, the omerta is broken and we're taking action." Whether Montreal believes him depends on what happens next — in court, in the prosecutors' offices, and at Stations 39 and 21.

Sources

• The Canadian Press, "Montreal police say seven officers fired over misconduct allegations" (first published November 2, 2026) — Winnipeg Free Press via Europe Says — dismissals, station split, Dagher and mayor quotes, Red Coalition response.
• The Canadian Press, "Montreal police union promises action after seven officers fired" (first published November 3, 2026) — via Europe Says — union challenge, Francoeur letter, reinstatement/disciplinary route.
• CityNews Montreal, "Interview with Montreal police chief after historic firings of 7 officers" (November 3, 2026, published November 4, 2026) — via Europe Says — Dagher interview: Article 115, trust rationale, Station 39 staffing, action plan timing.
• CBC News, "7 Montreal police officers dismissed over racist, discriminatory conduct" (November 2, 2026) and "7 Montreal police officers fired for misconduct will contest decision" (November 4, 2026) — video report: CBC News on YouTube (text link only; oEmbed returned no title, so no embed used).