The tension in Toronto’s Christie Pits Park on Saturday, September 13th carried the weight of history. In 1933, Christie Pits was the site of historic antisemitic riots; ninety-one years later, a small, agitated group of alt-right “Canada First” supporters gathered waving flags and shouting slogans of exclusion.
Canada First supporters had predicted a strong turnout for their rally, but their plans quickly unraveled as they were met by a far larger and more powerful force: a diverse and determined crowd of over a thousand counter-protesters made up of trade unionists, students, Jewish anti-fascists, and community members, whose organized, vibrant presence embodied community resistance. Overwhelmed and outnumbered by the counter protestors, the Canada First group was forced to abandon their rally and retreat down Bloor Street.
This was not merely a clash of rallies but a battle between two visions for the future: one of division and one of solidarity. The message from the Canada First rally was “Stop mass immigration. Start mass deportations. Remigration is necessary,” while that of the counter rally was, “Bring friends, water, snacks, art supplies and noisemakers and anything else you’ll need to spend an afternoon in the park”. The confrontation exposed the fundamental mechanics of fascist strategy—the cynical redirection of working-class anger onto scapegoats like immigrants to protect the true architects of social and economic crises: the capitalist class.
This mobilization was no accident. For weeks, communities across Toronto mobilized alongside the Workers Action Centre, Migrant Workers’ Alliance for Change, Elementary Teachers of Toronto, Justice for Workers, and many other groups to collectively poster, leaflet, and use their social networks to build a powerful response. By occupying the park’s key areas early, anti-hate organizers strategically denied Canada First a visible rally point, forcing them into small, isolated clusters, surrounded and overwhelmed by the counter-protesters’ numbers.
The tale of good vs bad immigrants
A common theme was “Canada First” protesters claiming they only oppose “illegal” immigrants or those with “criminal records” to make their position appear more reasonable. However, studies consistently show that immigrants in Canada, both recent and established, are significantly less likely to be involved in criminal activity compared to the Canadian-born population, a trend attributed to stronger family and community bonds, a higher commitment to education, and greater economic integration within immigrant populations. Their manufactured concern collapses under the weight of evidence, revealing the underlying truth: for a core segment, the problem is not illegal immigration, but immigration itself. They point to the housing crisis, stagnant wages, and strained public services, and they blame newcomers for these systemic shortcomings. However, this scapegoat logic collapses under the slightest materialist analysis. The crisis is a direct product of the financialization of housing as an investment vehicle for the wealthy. Similarly, stagnant wages and crumbling public services are the calculated outcomes of decades of neoliberal policy, relentlessly pursued by governments serving corporate interests. They are the result of attacks on unions, the suppression of the minimum wage and the deliberate underfunding of healthcare and education to justify privatization, all political choices made to benefit the rich.
Immigrants are not the cause of these problems. They are the nurses in our hospitals, the tradespeople building our cities, the students enriching our campuses, and the taxpayers supporting our social infrastructure. They are victims of the same exploitative system that pits us against each other in a race to the bottom for wages and living standards. The capitalist class benefits enormously when a worker born in Canada blames a worker born in Bangladesh for their precarious life, rather than recognizing their shared enemy in the C-suite.
And let’s not forget that Canada is a settler colony built on Indigenous lands, and its strength lies in welcoming all people equally regardless of origin. In a nation built on displacement and migration, denying others a place is both hypocritical and unjust.
Beyond shouting matches: strategic counter-organizing
Confronting these rallies is essential, but how we do it matters. The instinct to meet hate with anger is understandable. Yet, simply screaming “fascist!” at a hardened ideologue often plays directly into their hands. It provides them with the violent spectacle they crave for their propaganda reels, frames them as martyrs for free speech in the eyes of onlookers, and burns out activists without building lasting power. Already, Canada First leader Joe Anidjar is on podcasts claiming that the more direct approaches to their nonsense in Christie Pits “expose the left for who they really are,” attempting to frame the left as violent villains and the alt-right as justice-seeking heroes.
An appealing approach for a counter-protest must be strategic, disciplined, and focused on long-term movement building.
- Overwhelm with numbers and unity: The primary goal is to demonstrate the marginality of the far-right. This requires building the largest possible, most united fronts. Our greatest strength is in our numbers and our diversity as seen in this rally where counter protestors organized to take up space in key locations that disintegrated the far-right protestors. The presence of major labor unions, community organizations, and faith groups in Christie Pits sent a powerful message that organized working-class power stands against hate.
- De-escalation and community defense: Our priority must be the safety of our people. This means training marshals and peacekeepers to de-escalate conflicts, create protective buffers, and deny the far-right the chaotic brawl they seek. We are not there to engage in their combat; we are there to render them irrelevant and protect our community.
- Deny them the “gotcha” moment: The far-right often attends these events not to debate, but to provoke and document. They seek isolated, agitated reactions as social media content that paints our movement as violent, unhinged, and intolerant. We must be aware of this tactic. If one tries to bait you, simply turn your back and rejoin the collective chants. By remaining calm, united, and focused on our positive message, we deny them the damaging footage they crave and ensure the public narrative is defined by our solidarity, not their manipulation.
- Speak to the undecided: Our message shouldn’t be aimed at the core fascists who are already lost, nor should it be aimed at those of us who are already counter-protesting. It must be aimed at the bystanders, the people watching online, and those who are genuinely fearful and looking for answers. Our chants and signs must articulate a positive, material vision as used recently – “Fight ignorance, not immigrants”, “Solidarity has no borders”, “Unite the workers, fight the bosses,” etc. We win by offering a better explanation for people’s pain and a solution based on solidarity.
- From protest to power: While the counterrally was needed as defense, the real work is the day-to-day organizing that builds working-class power. We counter the far-right most effectively by making them obsolete. This means organizing workplaces to win better wages, building tenant unions to fight for rent control, and creating class consciousness. When people are housed, unionized, and have a sense of collective power, the hollow hate of the far-right holds no appeal.
Solidarity that spans all borders
And while this fightback was local, the threat is global. The “Canada First” movement is a local franchise of an international network. Their ideology, from the “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory to their anti-immigrant hysteria, is imported, shared, and funded across borders. From the Alternatives for Germany to the MAGA movement in the United States, the playbook is identical: find a scapegoat for the social decay caused by capitalism and offer a sentiment of nostalgic, nationalistic purity. At Christie Pits, that playbook was rejected.
The counter-protest in Christie Pits proved that far-right rhetoric can be met with overwhelming, organized opposition. But our task is larger than just responding to their provocations. Our task is to build a world where their ideology finds no fertile ground. This means relentlessly organizing on a class basis, uniting workers of all origins, and fighting for a socialist future where the wealth we all create is used to serve human needs.
Author
Did you like this article? Help us produce more like it by donating $1, $2, or $5. Donate