Pro-Palestine Protesters Rally for Gaza Outside Parliament Hill in Ottawa

Pro-Palestine protesters from Montreal and Toronto travelled to Ottawa for the National March on Ottawa for Gaza. The protest was held outside Parliament Hill on March 9, 2024, and was organized by the Palestinian Youth Movement. 

Protesters from the three cities met at Parliament Hill, where they gathered in thousands to march, demanding an end to Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip. During the National March, the Palestinian Youth Movement brought focus to more than 150 days having passed since October 7. Since October 7, more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed, over 70,000 injured and more than two million displaced.

Activists are also pushing for Canada to end military exports to Israel, saying that this is being used by the Israeli military to harm Palestinians. They also urged Canada to impose political and economic sanctions on Israel. 

Their third demand was for Canada to reinstate funding to The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which provides humanitarian aid for Gazans. The third demand was met the day before the march. Canada confirmed it would lift the UNRWA funding freeze on March 8th.

The protest took place one day after International Women’s Day and the day before Ramadan. 

Speakers included a doctor from Nasser Hospital, who spoke of the heroism of the medics of Gaza in the face of the destruction of local infrastructures and the Palestinian way of life.

Despite the presence of Jewish people in the rally across a wide range of beliefs, orthodox to secular, the protests were still decried by The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) and other Israeli organizations as antisemitic.