Protesters braved the rain at Nathan Phillips Square to rally against President-elect Donald Trump on November 19.
The rally was organized by a federation of activists who secured the interest of over 7,300 people via an event listing on Facebook; around 1,000 protesters attended.
Originally called for 12:00 pm, organizers pushed the start time back to 1:00 pm. Speakers included Parkdale-High Park MPP Cheri DiNovo and former Ontario Federation of Labour President Sid Ryan.
Protesters convened at Nathan Phillips Square before marching south down Bay Street to occupy the intersection at Adelaide Street, right in front of Trump Tower. Here they alternated between chants including: ‘love Trumps hate,’ ‘silence is violence,’ ‘fuck Donald Trump,’ and ‘your hands too small, you can’t build a wall.’
The crowd dispersed after police asked protesters to move to the sidewalk at 3:30 pm.
Altercations occurred between anti-Trump protesters and Trump supporters, who were also in attendance. The sign of one Trump supporter read: ‘Is this group therapy for cry babies?’
This was not the only controversial statement made: one anti-Trump protester carried around a cardboard cutout of a member of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) being lynched.
“I don’t want this to be someone, I don’t want to see some KKK member, or anyone else, hanging from a rope again, but we have to be reminded what the ugliness of [hatred] is,” says Phil P, who was part of the group protesting Trump.
“These protests clearly show youth are very frustrated with the outcome of Decision 2016,” said Gabriel Elias, Communications Director for Democrats Abroad Canada. “As a Democrat, I believe we need to channel this frustration into meaningful organizing activity as there are 716 days until the midterms.”
