At 12:00 pm on June 14, a large group of anti-Trump protesters gathered across the street from the US consulate in downtown Toronto and then marched to the Ontario Legislative Building in Queen’s Park. Protesters wielded upside-down American flags as part of a ‘No Tyrants’ protest organized by the Toronto chapter of Democrats Abroad and Indivisible, a progressive grassroots activism organization and a leading voice of opposition to the Trump Administration. 

This protest was one of thousands held across the US and Canada, which took place on the same day as US President Donald Trump’s military parade, celebrating the US Army’s 250th anniversary and Trump’s 79th birthday. 

The protest

At 12:10 pm, with more protesters steadily joining the group, organizers and guest speakers addressed the crowd. The energy was high as mention of Trump’s birthday was met with boos, but grew solemn as attendees placed hands over hearts and joined one speaker in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag. When organizers asked who in the crowd was American, most raised their hands. 

At 12:50 pm, the protesters began marching toward Queen’s Park, escorted by the Toronto Police. Passersby honked in support from their cars as the march proceeded down University Avenue, with protesters chanting “No ICE, no KKK, no fascist USA,” and carrying signs that read “Democracy over Oligarchy” and “Resist!” 

By 1:30 pm, the protest was in full swing as the last marchers arrived at Queen’s Park and gathered in front of the Ontario Legislative Building. 

After a Land Acknowledgement, organizers and protesters took turns addressing the crowd. One speaker declared, “dissent is the heartbeat of democracy,” and another paraphrased Martin Luther King Jr., saying, “The arc of history bends toward justice.” 

By 2:52 pm, the crowd had thinned. In a final rallying cry, organizers urged: “If you’re American, make sure you vote. Protest wherever you can.” 

In a statement to The Varsity, Julie Buchanan, chair of Toronto Democrats Abroad, said that around 600 people had attended the protest, though some reports estimated the turnout at 1,000. 

Background

Democrats Abroad, an official arm of the US Democratic Party, engages in organizing and advocacy for US citizens living abroad through its 52 country committees across five continents. In her statement, Buchanan explained that the Toronto chapter “partnered with Indivisible, once we saw that Canadians were organizing a No Tyrants rally at Queen’s Park.”

‘No Tyrants,’ which also saw protests in Vancouver and Ottawa, was the Canadian counterpart to the ‘No Kings’ protests that swept the United States on June 14. The protests were in response to the Trump administration’s $25–45 million military parade marking the 250th anniversary of the US Army — an event that coincided with Trump’s 79th birthday. 

In an announcement about the protest, Democrats Abroad explained the name change: “We’ve changed the ‘No Kings’ theme of other events around the world to ‘No Tyrants,’ so as not to mix messages in a country with a monarchy.”

In the US, ‘No Kings’ protests took place in every state, with turnout far exceeding that of Trump’s military parade. The Guardian reported that an estimated four million to six million people turned up to protest, with some experts calling it the largest single-day demonstration in US history. By contrast, White House communications director Steven Cheung claimed in an unverified post on X that 250,000 “patriots” attended the military parade.

In a statement to The Varsity, Katrina Eilender, an organizer from U of T’s Vote from Abroad club, wrote, “[t]he contrast between the poorly attended parade and the thousands of protestors in every city, both happening on the same day, was powerful. We showed that there is resistance to Trump’s regime, that we won’t obey in advance, that we will stand up for the people he is targeting and for the sovereignty of Canada.”

Buchanan declared that “US/Dual US Citizens and Canadians alike, in equal measure, joined efforts to support a shared resistance against tyranny, oligarchy, and the idea of a US dictatorship led by Donald Trump.”