On February 28, 2026, Toronto was one of several cities that held emergency rallies to protest the US/Israeli bombing of Iran.
The Toronto rally at the US Consulate drew around 200 attendees, though no large civil society groups appeared to be involved (save for one flag from the United Steelworkers). Unfortunately, there was also a 20-or-so person counter-rally by Cubans lauding Trump and urging him to “finish the job in Cuba.” Much screaming took place at the margins of each of these two groups. There was a fairly large police presence, including a barrier facing Armoury Street near the Consulate, but for the most part, they stayed around the edges.
Meanwhile, just north of Toronto, about 45,000 Iranians celebrated the killing of Khamenei.
In the past there has been decent attendance at emergency protest rallies, largely because there was some indication of imminent bombing, and notification would go out, mainly on social media, to “prepare to rally at 5 pm at location X, the day bombing begins.” Perhaps few understood just how immediately the US/Israeli plans would be implemented this time around.
I spoke with two people at the rally, Amir (who is Iranian) and Zee, who were willing to share their perspectives on what’s happening and what comes next.
Why are you at the rally today?
Amir: I’m here because of my personal conscience. I cannot stand by while watching my country being bombed, with the people of Iran who are going to be at the end (point) of this aggression, the people most impacted.
Zee: I am here because this is an atrocious act of war, what the US government is doing to Iran and its people, and it’s completely unjustified. It’s our collective responsibility to fight back against that.
What demands should we make on the Canadian state?
Amir: Obviously the first thing is the (legislative) amendment to have an arms embargo on weapons that are being sent to Israel and that bomb our Palestinian children, and to have accountability for military parts manufactured here, especially within the F-35 program. The government must also condemn the aggression of Israel and the United States on Iran, instead of the passive support that they have for whatever regime change operation the United States is doing. The future of Iran is in the hands of Iran and we are not blind people. We have examples in the past that we are following, and there is no way that we’re going to think that the US is on our side. So, our demand is that Canada stand on the right side of history.
Zee: The government has to vote for peace, in solidarity with the people, and in collaboration with other governments (who also believe this), to be able to influence the outcome. They need to make sure that this illegal act of war does not go unnoticed; this is against the international rules of order, which Canada purports to defend.
You’re right about the militant record of the Iranian working class historically. What do you think it will take for the Iranian workers to win this time?
Amir: This situation I think really shows how important mass consciousness is in our movement, and how important organizing is for our working class movement. We should take this as an example where our working class needs to be more involved in our mass (movements). We need to be able to capture moments like this and be able to mobilize ourselves, the same way Cubans are mobilizing. This (current) aggression means we need to be much more militant, much more sophisticated and more united, instead of letting our future be decided by some foreign country that wants to get our resources and minerals and turn us into a failed state, so that Israel can run its project and achieve a “greater” Israel.
We want to be able to decide for ourselves any specific strategies that allies and members of the Iranian diaspora here could be thinking about. I would say the women have always been an ally and have always seen the US for what it is. We have worked with various groups, who are full of wonderful people.
Post-interview reflections
Amir and Zee raise important points: regardless of how one feels about the Iranian government, this bombing is an illegal act of war, and Canada’s material and political support of it must be opposed. Hopefully yesterday’s emergency rally will serve as an important first step in creating a larger, united anti-war mass movement that brings workers together everywhere to stop the war on Iran.
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