Quebec is once again pushing the boundaries of the debate over religion in the public square. The Legault government is introducing legislation to ban “street prayers” — a move that, depending on your view, is either overdue or overreach.
This isn’t an abstract issue. For months, Muslim Montrealers have gathered outside the Notre Dame Basilica in Old Montreal to take part in prayers. On the other side of the cobblestone streets, non-Muslims have begun gathering in protest, waving Quebec’s fleur-de-lis flag, arguing that faith belongs behind closed doors. Each time the gatherings grew larger, more confrontational, and more symbolic of a clash between identity and expression.
Some passersby admitted to feeling uneasy, interpreting the scene as a deliberate claiming of Catholic heritage by another faith. One protester, (interviewed Thursday afternoon on French language station 98.5FM) said he saw it as “a challenge, right on the church’s doorstep.”
In recent months, Islamic prayers have also spilled into parks and downtown streets, with worshippers rolling out mats outside shopping districts and public offices. What began occasionally has become a regular source of tension.
The pushback has been visceral. Downtown merchants complain that prayers outside their storefronts drive away customers, creating bottlenecks of foot traffic. One caller to the radio talk show remembered feeling “trapped” when sidewalks suddenly filled with rows of worshippers, unsure if she was intruding or even welcome to pass through.
Elsewhere, motorists have reported frustration when intersections were partially blocked. Even if only briefly, the sight triggered confrontations: honking, shouting, accusations of disrespect. For a segment of Quebecers, the sudden visibility of religion in public sparked not only annoyance but genuine fear — that what is happening in Montreal could echo the social frictions seen in European capitals.
And sometimes recently, these prayers came with a political message — critical of Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza, calling for a “free Palestine.” To critics, that only heightens the outrage, saying, “these are really protests, not prayers.”
Quebec’s uneasy relationship with religion is deeply rooted. For generations, the Catholic Church dominated social life, urging families to “fill the pews with many children” over education and advancement, seen by critics as self-serving. The Quiet Revolution of the 1960s was, in many ways, a revolt against that grip, as francophones built their own schools and universities to finally match the English institutions that had long flourished. Out of that history emerged Quebec’s modern embrace of laïcité — secularism — which took form in laws like Bill 21, prohibiting government employees in positions of authority from wearing religious symbols. That includes doctors, nurses and teachers. To many Quebecers, it was not an attack on faith but a continuation of the push to free the state from clerical influence; to critics, it crossed into discrimination under the guise of neutrality.
Now, Quebec is positioning itself as the first province in Canada to tackle the issue of street prayers head-on. The central question is this: Is it appropriate to conduct religious prayer in public, and at what point does expression become disruption? How do you balance that with the right to freedom of religion guaranteed in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms?
But is it that black and white? Or is Quebec being proactive in addressing a sensitive issue before it spirals into the kinds of confrontations seen in Paris, where such a ban is already in place.
The Legault government argues that prayer belongs in places of worship — be it churches, mosques, or synagogues — not on the streets .
In a statement, the Canadian Muslim Forum defended street prayers as “a manifestation of freedom of expression that has been exercised for so long by various communities.” The policy has also raised opposition from Quebec’s Catholic leaders, who argue that a ban risks turning secularism into a new form of intolerance.
One thing is certain: Quebec is once again leading Canada into uncharted waters, testing the limits of secularism and freedom of religion. The province’s decision will serve as a test case — not only in the courts, where Charter challenges are almost certain, but in the court of public opinion.
Leslie Roberts is a former television journalist and news anchor.
