Braving a biting winter wind, dignitaries gathered in front of Polytechnique Montr茅al鈥檚 main campus on Friday to pay tribute to the 14 women killed at the engineering school in an anti-feminist attack 35 years ago.

Among those silently laying white flowers at the foot of a commemorative plaque was Louis Courville, who was the interim director of the school in 1989.

鈥淚 am glad that there are many people who did not forget what has happened,鈥� Courville, 90, said afterwards. 鈥淎t the same time, it鈥檚 the memory of a very sad, horrible thing.鈥�

The women murdered in 1989 were Genevi猫ve Bergeron, H茅l猫ne Colgan, Nathalie Croteau, Barbara Daigneault, Anne-Marie Edward, Maud Haviernick, Maryse Lagani猫re, Maryse Leclair, Anne-Marie Lemay, Sonia Pelletier, Mich猫le Richard, Annie St-Arneault, Annie Turcotte and Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz.

Thirteen others were injured in the attack perpetrated by Marc L茅pine, who took his own life. He had ranted about feminists ruining his life.

Courville was in his office when the shooting began and all he could hear was a rain of bullets. He assumed an armed group had besieged the school. 鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 think that it was only one person. I tried to figure out, what are they going to ask of me? Am I going to have to negotiate something?鈥� he recalled.

鈥淏ut Marc L茅pine wasn鈥檛 coming to negotiate,鈥� Courville added. In the days and weeks that followed, he and his wife Jeanne Dauphinais would travel across the province to meet with families of the victims.

Polytechnique Montr茅al president Maud Cohen said Friday there鈥檚 a duty to learn from what happened. 鈥淲e need to remember these young ladies that lost their lives: there were 13 students, one employee,鈥� Cohen told reporters.

鈥淚t鈥檚 about making sure everybody can have a path forward,鈥� she added. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about making sure that everyone, women specifically on Dec. 6, can feel welcome, they can feel like they can blossom and they can really enjoy a place where they can fulfil their dreams.鈥�

Mathieu Thibault, a fourth-year civil engineering student at Polytechnique, had the tragedy of Dec. 6 imparted on him at a young age. His mother was at the school the night of the shooting and left with everyone rushing out of the building. Both his parents graduated from the school.

Thibault grew up hearing about double standards and sexism on the job, and upon admission to university, he joined a group advocating for more women in the engineering profession.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a heavy moment, you know, it鈥檚 time to reflect on how we act: where are we in society?鈥� Thibault said. 鈥淎nd this year in particular, I feel like because it鈥檚 the 35th, but it鈥檚 also a year where we鈥檝e seen a certain rise of toxic masculinity.鈥�

Cohen said she is worried that incursions on women鈥檚 rights in the United States could seep into Canada.

鈥淚鈥檓 wondering if the rights that I have right now are going to be the same that the next generation of women are going to have,鈥� Cohen said. 鈥淚 think we all have a responsibility, not just us women, but also the men around us to make sure this doesn鈥檛 happen to any groups, specifically women.鈥�

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a statement Friday describing the 14 women killed as 鈥渢alented students, beloved daughters and sisters, and Canada鈥檚 future. Their lives were tragically cut short simply because they were women.鈥�

鈥淎s we remember the victims of this hateful, cowardly act, we are also reminded that, for many women, girls, and gender-diverse people, the violent misogyny that led to this tragedy still exists,鈥� Trudeau added.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre recalled on the anniversary that 鈥渢his brutality is remembered as one of the worst attacks on women and on the values that unite us.鈥�

鈥淐anada鈥檚 promise is one of guaranteed freedom, safety and opportunity for all, regardless of gender or origin,鈥� Polievre said in a statement. 鈥淎ny form of violence against women is totally unacceptable.鈥�

At 5:10 p.m. on Friday, the exact time the first shots were fired, 14 beams of light are set to illuminate the sky above Mount Royal, lit one at a time as the names of the 14 victims are read out. For the first time this year, a 15th beam will be added in memory of all victims of femicide.

Families of victims will be present for the ceremony along with Trudeau, Quebec Premier Fran莽ois Legault and Montreal Mayor Val茅rie Plante.

Vigils and other events are scheduled in Montreal and across the country to mark the anniversary.

鈥淭hirty-five years later, we still have to reiterate that women have the right to live without fear, to follow their aspirations and to achieve their dreams,鈥� Plante said in a statement Friday. 鈥淓very step towards equality benefits society as a whole.鈥�