'They're not freedom fighters': Trudeau, Poilievre speak at Jewish community centre after Hamas attack
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators spilled onto streets in several Canadian cities on Thanksgiving Day while the prime minister and Opposition leader spoke at a vigil at a Jewish community centre, following a weekend of deadly fighting in the Middle East.
Protesters gathered at Nathan Phillips Square in front of Toronto City Hall on Monday afternoon, many draped in or waving Palestinian flags as the crowd chanted, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” in a demonstration that was denounced by the city's mayor.
One sign read, “Occupation is a crime, resistance is a response.”
The gathering came after Hamas militants out of Gaza launched an attack on Israel on Saturday, firing thousands of rockets and sending dozens of fighters to infiltrate the heavily fortified border by air, land and sea.
The attack has been called the deadliest on Israel in years, with the incursion and counteroffensive killing hundreds on both sides and injuring thousands more. In the war's third day, Israel was still finding bodies and tens of thousands fled their homes in the Gaza Strip as relentless airstrikes levelled buildings.
Global Affairs Canada said it was aware of reports of one Canadian who has died amid the fighting and two others who were missing.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned the attack at a vigil in Ottawa in the crowded Soloway Jewish Community Centre Monday evening. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe and other local politicians also attended the event.
Trudeau appeared to reference pro-Palestinian rallies across Canada as he addressed the solemn crowd.
“Hamas terrorists aren't a resistance, they're not freedom fighters. They are terrorists, and no one in Canada should be supporting them, much less celebrating them,” he said.
Sheila Mattar, a 53-year-old Palestinian-Canadian, was hesitant to attend the Toronto demonstration because she feels it's taboo for Canadians to show support for Palestine.
She often refrains from talking about politics with friends, who don't even know she is half-Palestinian. Her father grew up in the city of Haifa, but his family was expelled from their house in 1948, and her grandfather was shot dead by the Israelis at his front door nearly two decades later, she said.
“I've lived with this my entire life and this is generational trauma, and I can't be on the sidelines anymore. I have to speak up, the atrocities have to end.”
As Palestinians like Mattar gathered, counter-protesters waved or wore Israeli flags, and police created barricades around them using bikes as they engaged in shouting matches with pro-Palestine protesters, who greatly outnumbered them.
Speakers reiterated that they were there not to spread hate against Jewish people, but to advocate for Palestinian liberation.
Hours before the protest, deputy Toronto police chief Lauren Pogue warned the public that there would be no tolerance for violence or hate crimes ahead of the expected large-scale demonstration, as well as another gathering in solidarity with Israel which took place later in the evening.
Politicians and police forces in Winnipeg and Vancouver made similar declarations ahead of demonstrations in those cities.
Toronto's Palestinian event went on despite the opposition of several councillors and the city's mayor, Olivia Chow.
Chow called the demonstration “deplorable” and “a glorification of this weekend's indiscriminate violence, including murder and kidnapping of women and children, by Hamas against Israeli civilians.“
Later Monday, Chow, Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland stood on a stage in Toronto's North York neighbourhood where locals gathered to show their support for Israel, mourn those killed and pray for peace.
Approximately 250 police officers and other private security officials patrolled the public square where the event was held, and hundreds of people waved Israeli flags and cheered loudly as the politicians, one by one, expressed their “unequivocal” support for Israel's right to defend itself.
“We will always be an ally, we will always be a friend and, my friends, we wish you lasting peace and freedom,” Ford told the crowd.
Trudeau spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, where he “unequivocally condemned” Hamas' attacks and said he is “gravely concerned” about the atrocities that have unfolded.
Those statements irked Eman Amar, who attended the Toronto pro-Palestine rally and wants politicians to apologize for supporting Israel. The 21-year-old has seen little help given to Palestinians in the last 75 years.
“Now suddenly they're mad at Palestinians who are retaliating for their own rights and homes,” said Amar.
“Even though the government of Canada doesn't stand with them, Canadian people will stand with them.”
Hundreds of supporters of Palestine also rallied Monday in Vancouver, where a heavy police presence kept a watchful eye on the crowd.
Keinda Kliani, 16, was there with her family who came to Canada about five years ago.
“Our whole family lives in Gaza, which is currently being bombed by Israeli settlers,” she said. “We're protesting for the people that just died.”
But Rachel Goldberg, whose family lives in Tel Aviv and who showed up at the Vancouver rally with a small group of friends, despite being vastly outnumbered, said there was no reason for Hamas to bomb the city, “except to terrorize people.”
“You cannot tell me that you are fighting for freedom when you are kidnapping children, raping women, shooting the elderly at bus stops,” she said. “There is no military base in the middle of Tel Aviv.”
Calgary police said Monday that one person was taken into custody following rallies between local Israeli and Palestinian community groups. No charges have been laid yet, and police said the person is not believed to be a part of either community group.
At the vigil in Ottawa, Poilievre called Hamas “evil in its purest form,” and said it does not speak for Palestinians.
“That is why I unreservedly condemn any and all who took part in the disgusting celebrations that we have seen on our streets,” he told the crowd in Ottawa.
McGill University on Monday said it has written its student society, asking it to revoke permission for a group to use the university's name after it says the group made “incendiary posts.”
In a Facebook post Saturday urging people to attend a pro-Palestinian rally on Sunday, Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights McGill called the attack “heroic” and asked Montrealers to “celebrate the resistance's success.”
“McGill University denounces these communications; the celebration of acts of terror and violence is completely antithetical to McGill's fundamental values,” Michel Proulx, a spokesman for the university, said in a statement Monday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 9, 2023.
--With files from Fakiha Baig in Toronto, Darryl Greer in Vancouver, Laura Osman in Ottawa and Rob Drinkwater in Edmonton
IN DEPTH
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6922467.1718138898!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
'Not the result we wanted': Trudeau responds after surprise Conservative byelection win in Liberal stronghold
Conservative candidate Don Stewart winning the closely-watched Toronto-St. Paul's federal byelection, and delivering a stunning upset to Justin Trudeau's candidate Leslie Church in the long-time Liberal riding, has sent political shockwaves through both parties.
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6850735.1713368648!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6961922.1720810444!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
Video released of wild police car chase involving white Lamborghini north of Toronto
Police north of Toronto have released dramatic video of a car chase that led officers across York Region in pursuit of a Lamborghini SUV that was clocked at speeds in excess of 200 km/h.
An Indian billionaire's son is married after lavish celebrations that spotlight his global clout
The wedding of Anant Ambani, the youngest son of Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, has been a global spectacle. Not only has it brought the world’s most famous celebrities, powerful politicians and business tycoons under one roof, it has also highlighted the immense clout of the Indian billionaire.
5 people escape hot, acidic pond after SUV drove into inactive geyser in Yellowstone
Five people were able to escape a hot, acidic pond in Yellowstone National Park after the sport utility vehicle they were riding in went off the road and into an inactive geyser, park officials said Friday.
What a geriatric doctor wishes you knew now for healthy aging
Longevity isn’t just about living a long life but also about living well. More than one in five Americans will be 65 or older by 2040, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services projects.
Family members devastated by death of Toronto man allegedly swarmed by teens
Family members of a homeless Toronto man who died after police allege he was swarmed and stabbed by a group of teen girls say the thought of his last moments haunts them.
Ontario driver has licence suspended for 13-year-old traffic ticket
An Ontario driver was shocked to get a letter in the mail saying her licence had been suspended over a traffic ticket she received 13 years ago.
Girl, 12, kicked out of Quebec karate class for wearing hijab: human rights commission
The Quebec Human Rights Commission is seeking $13,000 for the family of a 12-year-old girl who was kicked out of her karate class for wearing a hijab.
Princess of Wales set to attend Wimbledon men's final on Sunday in rare public appearance
The Princess of Wales is set to attend the Wimbledon men's final on Sunday in a rare public appearance after her cancer diagnosis.
Inside the courtroom as case dismissed against Alec Baldwin in fatal shooting of cinematographer
A nearly three-year legal saga for Alec Baldwin in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer ended Friday without a verdict but with tears of relief for the actor and a small coterie of family who had settled into a sombre daily routine on wooden benches inside a windowless New Mexico courtroom at trial.
Local Spotlight
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6961578.1720800053!/httpImage/image.jpeg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpeg)
Rare marine fossil found in eastern Saskatchewan
A rare ammonite fossil – about 75 million years old - has been discovered in eastern Saskatchewan.
Ontario dad highlights Calgary Flames' act of kindness
Seven-year-old goalie Hudson Hardill is an unlikely Calgary Flames fan, being that he lives in Peterborough, Ont., and his dad Chris is a Toronto Maple Leafs fan.
'I nearly died': WestJet employee and Spice Girls superfan dances with Mel C
A WestJet employee's chance encounter on a recent flight spiced up her life in a big way.
He thought his gnomes were stolen. But then a secret society returned them
A Kelowna, B.C., man says he's always liked gnomes because they have a 'bit of mystery' to them. And he recently got a taste of that whimsy when his garden gnomes disappeared, and came back to him in a peculiar fashion.
Toronto's iconic 'Leslieville dollhouse' set to hit the market on Thursday
After more than 50 years, Toronto's iconic 'Leslieville dollhouse' will soon have a new owner.
Little free Blockbuster set up in Winnipeg
One man is bringing a blast from the past to a Winnipeg community.
'Her whole future ahead of her': Sask. photographer captures Manitoba graduate posing on iceberg
Some say a photograph is simply a memory frozen in time – and a high school graduation photo taken in Churchill, Man. takes that adage to a completely new level.
'Tears come to my eyes': Track star and family granted extension to stay in Canada after deportation order
A rising track and field star overcame a big hurdle in his dream to represent Canada at the Olympics.
B.C. buyers who backed out of home purchase ordered to pay more than $350K in damages
Would-be homebuyers who backed out of a deal to purchase a B.C. property in a hot real estate market have been ordered to pay the seller the difference between what they offered and what he was able to sell the home for when the market cooled.