Toronto police arrested someone on Friday as a large group of pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered outside a downtown hotel where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was attending a Liberal party fundraiser.
Those organizing the protest had previously said they would disrupt the event at the King Edward Hotel, stating in a message that the Liberal Party of Canada couldn't continue with “business as usual” during the Israel-Hamas conflict.
In Toronto earlier this month, a social gathering at the Art Gallery of Ontario with Trudeau and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was called off after protesters blocked entrances.
Authorities described Friday’s gathering as a “big demonstration” that led to closures. Police stated that one person was arrested for mischief.
While protesters gathered outside the hotel, many holding Palestinian flags, Trudeau was at a nearby Irish pub, raising what seemed to be a glass of Guinness ahead of St. Patrick’s Day on Sunday.
The prime minister then went into the hotel through a side entrance, before giving a short speech to party supporters.
In an interview before the event, Dalia Awwad of the Palestinian Youth Movement said protest organizers had anticipated a large crowd because this was the first Friday in the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, and noted that people had been given plenty of notice about the event.
“With the AGO action, folks had less notice about it taking place,” she said, referring to the rally outside the art gallery earlier this month.
