Toronto Protest Draws Thousands in Support of Palestinians

2026-03-19 05:14:58

(MENAFN) Roughly 4,500 protesters gathered on Saturday to express solidarity with Palestinians during a rally held outside the US Consulate in central Toronto.

The yearly Al-Quds Day demonstration, organized to back the Palestinian cause, proceeded after a judge rejected a last-minute attempt by the Ontario government to prohibit the gathering.

A significant number of police officers were deployed at the scene; however, authorities reported only two arrests, one involving a counter-protester. Participants displayed Palestinian and Iranian flags while chanting: “Free Palestine,” according to media outlets.

Multiple groups, among them the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), challenged the ban in court. They stated the move aimed “to defend civil liberties of the right to protest and to push back on anti-Palestinian racism.”

Ontario authorities submitted their legal motion at noon on Saturday.

“We were pleased to see the court in this case uphold the importance of charter-protected freedoms by dismissing the application,” the NCCM stated in an official release.

While attempting to halt the rally, Premier Doug Ford argued the gathering was “a breeding ground for hate and antisemitism.”

Earlier in the week, a gunshot was reportedly fired near the US Consulate in the early hours of Tuesday.

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