An anti-immigrant protest calling for “mass deportation” in Toronto’s Christie Pits Park was drowned out and forced out by thousands of counter-protesters on Saturday, turning the planned rally into a retreat down Bloor Street.
Organized by the group Canada First, the rally drew roughly 100 participants — far fewer than predicted by organizer Joe Anidjar, who had boasted online that supporters would outnumber opponents. Instead, the crowd was surrounded and outshouted by several thousand counter-protesters carrying signs and chanting “Go home, Nazis!”
Toronto police confirmed six arrests after brief scuffles broke out, though details were not released. Many counter-protesters saw the event as a symbolic stand against hate. “I feel like we’ve achieved victory,” said participant Catherine Crockett, who held a sign reading, “Christie Pits, Nazi free since 1933,” referencing the infamous antisemitic riot that took place there nearly a century ago.
City leaders condemned the Canada First rally ahead of time, with Councillor Diane Saxe calling it a “hate demonstration” meant to sow division. University of Toronto professor Craig Smith noted that the group’s call for “remigration” mirrors extremist rhetoric abroad, describing it as “synonymous with ethnic cleansing.”
Some Canada First participants insisted their concerns were about crime and job security rather than racism, but experts and researchers have repeatedly found that immigrants are less likely than Canadian-born citizens to commit crimes, and the federal government is already scaling back immigration targets and student visa numbers to ease housing pressures.
Counter-protesters, many of whom were immigrants or descendants of immigrants, stayed behind after the anti-immigrant crowd dispersed, delivering speeches celebrating Canada’s diversity and rejecting what they called “American-style hate politics.”