The streets of downtown Toronto were filled with thousands of protestors marching against Islamophobia in Canada and across the border in the United States.
The protest was set to begin at 1 p.m., but demonstrators showed up early in the cold weather to begin chanting and holding up various signs.
The protestors initially gathered in front of the U.S. Consulate on University Avenue at around noon on Saturday. The group is expected to march north to Dundas Street, east along Dundas Street to Yonge Street, south along Yonge Street to Queen Street and then west on Queen Street to the Federal Court of Canada building.
The protest comes after President Donald Trump issued a travel ban which banned citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the U.S. However, the ban has been temporarily suspended after a ruling by U.S. District Judge James Robart.
Despite the travel ban being temporarily overturned, protestors said there are still other issues which need to be addressed in Canada and the U.S.
Speaking with CP24, National Council of Canadian Muslims member Gilary Massa said the rally was initially meant to respond to the travel ban but after the shooting inside a mosque in Quebec City the narrative changed.
“(The march is) a group of Torontonians that have come together,” she said. “When we heard the news in Quebec of the murders in the city mosque it became even more urgent to talk about these issues, talk about Islamophobia and talk about the way that hate can be quite literally deadly.”
Six men were killed on Jan. 29 after a gunman, later identified as 27-year-old Alexandre Bissonnette, opened fire on people praying inside a mosque in Quebec City.
Bissonnette has been charged with murder and attempted murder in the attack, which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has condemned as “a terrorist act.”
Another person participating in the march, Syed Hussan, told CP24 that the march is a call for the federal government to open Canadians borders to refugees.
“We have thousands of people gathered here in mourning of the six deaths in Quebec City and in opposition to the racist Islamophobic laws in the United States and here in Canada,” he said. “We want the federal government to start by opening the border to refugees and immigrants from the United States and the rest of the world.”
At the march, NDP MPP Jagmeet Singh told CP24 that the turnout at the protest is impressive, but what happens next is what really matters.
“We need to do more than just saying we oppose Islamophobia,” he said. “We need to actually act towards creating a more inclusive society and we need policies to back it up. We can do so much more.”
Over 150 organizations are present in the protest in Toronto, which is taking place in concert with many other similar marches across the country.
University Avenue is closed in both directions between Queen and Dundas streets to accommodate the march, but has since reopened.
