Vancouver, October 2024 – A rally held on the steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery shocked many when protestors chanted “death to Canada” during a vigil that appeared to celebrate the Hamas attacks of October 2023. Organizers called for revolution, echoing chants typically associated with groups like Hezbollah and Hamas, while the crowd cheered. A masked speaker even declared, “We are Hezbollah, we are Hamas! Our resistance has existed for centuries.”
These protests, held across major Canadian cities, including Toronto and Montreal, have openly supported violent actions by groups like Hamas and Hezbollah, with some protestors celebrating terrorist acts. Despite this, many media outlets continue to label them as “pro-Palestinian” rallies, drawing criticism for downplaying the aggressive rhetoric.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre condemned the chants in the House of Commons, labeling them as genocidal and demanding that Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly denounce them. Poilievre further called for Samidoun, the group behind the Vancouver rally, to be designated as a terrorist organization in Canada. Samidoun, linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a banned terrorist entity, remains a federally registered not-for-profit organization, sparking outrage over its continued operations in Canada.
As tensions rise, the call for government action grows louder, with many demanding a crackdown on groups spreading extremist messages under the guise of political protests.