Pro-Palestinian protests grow across Canadian universities

The number of protest encampments at university campuses is growing in Canada. Tents have been pitched at the University of Toronto’s downtown campus to call on the institution to cut ties with Israel over the ongoing war in Gaza.

Quebec’s premier called for an end to the pro-Palestinian encampments at McGill University, saying he expected police to dismantle the tents.

Montreal police said they’re still evaluating the situation and so far it has been peaceful, so it’s not in the interests of the police or the city to immediately intervene.

Meantime, pro-Palestinian students staying at the University of Toronto’s downtown campus say they won’t be leaving by the school’s 10 p.m. deadline.

A written notice given to protesters said the university respects its members’ right to assemble and protest but they are considered trespassing.

“At about 4 a.m., 150 U of T students breached this fence here that was set up by the university administration and set up our encampment here at the center on what’s known as King’s College, and we have since renamed it as the people’s circle for Palestine,” said one student.

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“This isn’t about us being here. It’s about the university that’s perpetuating a genocide. They’re directly funding it and we reject that, and we want the whole world to know that the students, they just completely reject that. We’re coming from all walks of life, most people here aren’t Palestinian,” said another student.

One of the demands from activists is severing ties with Israeli universities which are accused of being accomplices in the country’s war in Gaza.

However, some prominent Israeli academics argue their institutions are also home to leading voices for peace with the number of protests at campuses growing.

McMaster University says they’re closely watching the situation across Canada, and throughout the year they’ve worked closely with student organizers to ensure peaceful protests, adding that they hope the same for any future events that may happen on campus.

Hamilton’s independent MP Sarah Jama posted on social media that she’s heading to McGill on Thursday to visit the student protest and intends to stop by as many campus encampments as she can over the next few days.

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