Montrealers mourn the passing of community activist Lucia Kowaluk

Montrealers of all stocks are remembering the accomplishments of community activist Lucia Kowaluk as she passed away.

Kowaluk dedicated several decades of her life to fighting for impoverished Montrealers.

Watch below: Activists rally to save Notman Garden

2:12 Activists rally to save Notman Garden

One of her biggest accomplishments was saving the Milton-Parc neighborhood and its heritage homes from demolition in the 1970’s. The project became the largest housing co-operative in North America.

Most recently, she battled developers –and succeeded– to save a green space at the corner of Clark and Milton streets known as the Notman Garden.

“I was very saddened to learn of the death last night of Lucia Kowaluk, a respected community activist who dedicated her life to fighting injustice and improving the lives of the less fortunate among us,” said city councillor Alex Norris on a Facebook post. Norris had worked with Kowaluk on her efforts to save the Notman Garden. “She will be deeply missed. My condolences to her partner Dimitri Roussopoulos and to all those who knew and loved her.”

Her achievements didn’t go unnoticed. Kowaluk was named to the Order of Canada in 2014 and a knight to the Order of Quebec the following year.

Kowaluk also headed a coalition of over 20 groups fighting to transform the empty hospitals into housing.

She had a hand in founding and growing several community organizations such as the Montreal Urban Ecology Centre, Héritage Montréal, La rue des femmes and Sauvons Montréal among others.

She was 84 years-old.

–With files from Global’s Dan Spector and Caroline Plante