Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante said that a welcome sign featuring an illustration of a woman wearing an Islamic headscarf that adorns one of the city hall's lobbies will be removed and replaced with another sign in line with the values of secularism.

Plante added in yesterday's episode of the talk show "Tout le monde en parle," which is broadcast by Radio-Canada, that the illustration of the woman in the hijab will be removed due to the "disruption" it causes, and also because institutions should strive to be secular.

The mentioned welcome sign, as well as a picture displayed in a public library of a young girl wearing an Islamic headscarf, have come under criticism in the media, and also from the separatist Parti Québécois (PQ), which said they show that religion is invading the public space.

Plante stated that it is possible to promote both diversity and secularism together.

The issue of religion in the public space has resurfaced in Quebec in recent weeks with the suspension of 11 teachers at a public elementary school in Montreal after a report from the Quebec Ministry of Education indicated that they had imposed a toxic atmosphere of fear and intimidation for years and had introduced religious concepts into the school.

There are allegations of introducing such concepts into other schools in Quebec's major cities.

The Montreal Mayor's office stated today that it has no further comment on what Plante said in the talk show aired yesterday, just days after she announced that she would not run for a third term as mayor of the city.

Municipalities in Quebec are scheduled for general elections on November 2, 2025.

Quebec is the only Canadian province with a majority French-speaking population and passed its National Assembly’s secularism law in June 2019, which prohibits judges, prosecutors, police officers, prison guards, and teachers in public elementary and secondary schools from wearing religious symbols of any kind during working hours.