Anti-war activists are facing criminal charges for protesting outside the Best Defence conference on October 21, 2025, a gathering that brought international arms dealers and defence corporations into Canada to court new business. While weapons manufacturers freely networked with military decision-makers and procurement officials inside, peaceful demonstrators outside were treated as criminals. Activists blocked entrances to the conference and held signs saying, ‘No pride in genocide’. The fact that activists are being punished for opposing an industry built on and profiting off of the destruction of land, homes, and human lives is nothing short of alarming.
A familiar playbook
This past week in Ontario, reports have emerged of anti-war activists being criminally charged for their participation in the protest against ‘Best Defence’, a conference held on October 21, 2025. The conference brought together international arms and defence manufacturers looking for entry into the Canadian economy. The event’s purpose is to provide networking opportunities with key decision-makers in the Canadian Armed forces and procurement specialists.
The message this sends is chilling: those who profit from war are welcomed, while those who speak out against it are targeted. The response to the protesters was a tactic from a familiar playbook used against Peace 11 — the Indigo protesters who were arrested in Toronto in November 2023. These activists brought attention to Indigo’s CEO, Heather Reisman’s complicity in the genocide. The Peace 11 protestors were targeted, and their homes were raided in the middle of the night with excessive force. A clear message sent to anyone daring to challenge political and corporate interests profiting off war and crimes against humanity.
Radio silence on free speech crackdown
What makes the police raids taking place on November 25 , 2025, even more troubling is the near-total silence from mainstream media. Their refusal to cover these raids mirrors a long-standing pattern: anti-war voices are cast as threats, while the state’s escalating repression goes unchallenged and unseen. These activists, who stand for peace and justice, are left to face the consequences without attention, without protection, and without public awareness their cause deserves. These deliberate attacks target key leaders that stand as the glue of the anti-war movement.
Many of those detained in recent days are leaders within the anti-war movement such as David Heap, a professor at the University of Western Ontario, co-founder of the Canadian boat to Gaza campaign and co-chair of London’s Chapter of the council of Canadians aimed at supporting advocacy and grassroots organizing that fight corporate power and defend our right to democracy. Rachel Small was also among those that were arrested and charged. Small is a community organizer who has worked on various campaigns ranging from climate justice, decolonization, disability justice and food sovereignty.
Patricia Mills, Diana Thorpe, Nicholas Vincent Armor, and Pamela Reano, all community organizers advocating for peace and an end to Canada’s complicity in the genocide, were also arrested.
Increased militarization is on the horizon
The federal government’s latest budget pledges an astonishing $81.8 billion to the Canadian Armed Forces over the next five years, at a time when countless Canadians are barely keeping their heads above water. Families can’t afford groceries, people are left waiting for years for a family doctor, and public sector workers are lining up at food banks to get by. While ordinary people are forced to make impossible choices, the government is pouring billions into the military. The contrast is heartbreaking and infuriating.
Ontario is currently home to roughly 300 defence companies that make component parts and software used in militarized surveillance and weapons systems worldwide. With Canada getting ready to significantly boost military spending, Ontario’s economic development minister Vic Fedeli is determined to attract more investors from global arms manufacturers.
This moment demands scrutiny. It demands solidarity. And above all, it demands that we refuse to let state intimidation extinguish the movement for Palestinian liberation. We must stop the Canadian complicity in these war crimes against humanity.
Allies have launched a fundraiser to support the legal defense of those arrested. To support legal defence for anti-war activists in Tkaranto, consider donating to the Toronto Community Justice Fund (tcjf.ca).
Authors
Did you like this article? Help us produce more like it by donating $1, $2, or $5. Donate