Nine arrests at counter-protest against Canada First rally

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Used toilet paper inside plastic bags with eggs and urine, as well as smoke bombs were allegedly being thrown.

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The targets of this “disgusting” approach were Toronto Police officers and members of the Canada First “Stop Mass Immigration Rally” gathering. Cops were trying to keep Canada First demonstrators separated from a counter-protest made up of participants identifying as Antifa, local unions and some who have been regular participants of the pro-Palestinian movement in the past two years.

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But until the protests that have centered around the war in Gaza, this appears to be the first time that loaded projectiles, including, per police, bags containing feces, were thrown. And when that happens, no one should be surprised that arrests followed.

Toronto Police said there were nine arrests to be precise. It’s safe to say the gloves were off for this protest down at city hall on Saturday. And no one can complain that Toronto Police didn’t engage this time.

“Today our members attended yet another protest in our city, this time the situation was volatile, and the behaviour of some participants was completely unacceptable and disgusting,” Toronto Police Association president Clayton Campbell said. “While trying to keep the situation safe for everyone, our members were pelted with eggs, used toilet paper, and plastic bags filled with what appeared to be urine.”

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Smoke bomb thrown at cops

Campbell added a smoke bomb was “thrown from the crowd toward our members.”

Wow. All of this is so ugly. In ‘Toronto The Good’ no less.

This was a violent clash as can be seen in multiple videos on social media. Police sources say most of the unruly behaviour came from the counter-protesters trying to break through the line at the Canada First demonstration.

“It got pretty hectic,” Canada First founder and president Joe Anidjar posted to X.

It sure did.

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At times it looked like a full donnybrook, with police handcuffing people, bikes being used to protect the line and plenty of foul language.

The temperature was higher than most demonstrations in the city have been since Oct. 7, 2023.

‘Go back home’

In his speech on Nathan Phillips Square, Anidjar said “If you come to this country, you respect our way of life,” but “if you can’t do that, go back home.”

This kind of verbiage stoked anger.

Toronto Councillor Neethan Shan of Scarborough—Rouge Park told CBC Toronto “this xenophobia, these anti-refugee, anti-immigrant sentiments that are being spread deliberately to cause fear, deliberately to create a foundation for further racism and hate needs to be stopped.”

But Anidjar rejected that, also telling CBC “If you take a look around, it’s very multicultural. It’s people from all different backgrounds and races,” who “want to preserve our culture, our identity and our way of life.”

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Canadian freedom of speech allows a person the right to express their point of view, and those who don’t agree have every right to counter it. But it must be done peacefully, with no violence and no weapons like police said were being thrown Saturday.

Police prevented it from being worse

It’s precious to see activists saying Canada First should not be able to demonstrate when they have not said the same thing about the constant protests in Jewish neighbourhoods. Like the weekly protests against Israel, this was an organized and legal demonstration and police did their best to ensure the group could express their charter rights.

Lawyer and journalist Caryma Sa’d said Toronto Police were able to keep it well organized and reasonably peaceful while everybody was on Nathan Phillips Square, but it became out of control when things moved to Bay St.

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“Police ultimately kept the groups separated for the most part and did not allow Antifa to prevent Canada First from marching,” Sa’d said.

But there was a price to pay for that.

“One police officer was punched,” Campbell alleged. “Several arrests were made and thankfully our members were not seriously injured.”

Toronto Police said they would provide more details on Sunday. Police are in a no-win situation in these kinds of things. If they are too soft, they get criticized and if they are too heavy, there is much scrutiny.

They seemed to find the right balance with this Saturday protest and counter-protest.

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More Canada First protests to come

“Our members will always facilitate peaceful and lawful demonstrations but this violence cannot and will not be tolerated. We are so proud of our members and we will continue to support them,” TPA said.

Who knows what’s next, but Anidjar hinted there could be more demonstrations to come.

“Until next time!” he posted to X. “Canada First. Canadians First! Stay solid crew. Well done today. Let keep er moving.”

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