Polytechnique expands scholarship program to 14 women in memory of 1989 tragedy

MONTREAL — Polytechnique Montréal is expanding its scholarship program honouring the 14 women who were killed at the engineering school 36 years ago.

The Order of the White Rose scholarship was established in 2014 and had previously only been awarded to one female engineering student in Canada per year.

This year, new donors have stepped up to fund 14 scholarships valued at $50,000 each for female students to pursue an engineering master’s or doctoral degree in Canada or elsewhere.

Award recipients for the 11th edition of the program include students enrolled at universities in Quebec, Alberta, Ontario and British Columbia.

White roses have become the symbol commemorating the victims of the 1989 mass murder.

On Dec. 6 of that year a man motivated by a hatred of feminists shot and killed 14 women and injured 13 other people at the engineering school affiliated with Université de Montréal.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 1, 2025.