After experiencing a health problem related to anorexia nervosa at age 12, Léa Clermont-Dion questioned the pressure put on women by the unachievable media ideal of thin models.

[2][6] In 2006,[2] at age 14, she worked with Cathy Wong[7] to organize a conference of leading feminists[2] at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) which attracted more than 400 people.

[6][12] Clermont-Dion has also tried to create dialog by bringing issues forward creatively, as in her short film Sandra about teenaged prostitution and the photo exhibit "Banfora en 30 visages" which showed empowering portraits of the Green Brigades.

[14] On 25 October 2017 Clermont-Dion claimed on her Facebook page to have filed a sexual assault complaint against Michel Venne, journalist and founder of the Institut du Nouveau Monde, for an alleged incident that occurred when he was her boss in the summer of 2008.

[15][17] Clermont-Dion claimed that Lise Payette, a feminist and columnist, pressured her to sign a retraction as rumours spread, affecting Venne's opportunity to become an editor at Le Devoir.