About 60 people attended a ceremony in Montreal on Thursday to mark the 18th anniversary of the shooting rampage at École Polytechnique that left 14 young women dead.

It was a snowy day Dec. 6, 1989, when a gunman stalked the halls of the school and shot dozens of female students.

Since then, annual ceremonies across Canada have been held on the anniversary of the shootings.

On Thursday morning, people gathered in the Place du 6 décembre at l'École Polytechnique to lay roses and observe a minute of silence in honour of the slain women.

A white rose was placed on each of the 14 stainless steel monuments at the square, located at the corner of Queen Mary Road and Decelles Street.

Fourteen white ribbons were also tied around trees in the square, named in memory of gunman Marc Lépine's victims.

Canada's Parliament named December 6 a National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women in 1991.

The day has since been an occasion for groups to renew calls for tighter gun laws.

Several groups attending the Montreal ceremony asked the federal Conservative government to not touch the gun registry.

The Quebec Women's Federation also wants Ottawa to increase funding for native women's shelters, and spend $25 million over the next decade to finance a national campaign against violence.

Federal building flags were lowered to half-mast on Thursday as a reminder of the need to end violence against women.

In Ontario, Premier Dalton McGuinty will attend a ceremony to mark the anniversary at Women's College Hospital.

Most universities plan to hold a minute of silence to mark the anniversary.

With files from the Canadian Press