Anti-mandate protests: Road closures in downtown Toronto to continue, police say

Road closures will continue in downtown Toronto, police say, a day after large crowds in solidarity with the ongoing anti-mandate protests in Ottawa gathered in the city.

“In order to keep access routes clear, protect our healthcare workers, patients, and their families, and maintain public safety, road closures will continue today in the downtown core,” the force said in a tweet Sunday morning.

On Saturday, crowds of protesters from across the Greater Toronto Area gathered at Queen’s Park and at the park north of the legislature.

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Shortly after the protest began, demonstrators blocked the intersection of Bloor Street and Avenue Road.

One 22-year-old man was arrested as a result of the protests.

On Friday, police closed several roads in the city, securing routes for emergency vehicles and around hospitals.

In a tweet Sunday, Coun. Joe Cressy said Toronto police and city officials “approached protests with a plan.”

“Hate speech is unacceptable,” he wrote. “Interfering with hospitals would not be tolerated. Everyone has a fundamental right to peaceful protest. Yesterday, collectively, Torontonians upheld these principles.”

The city’s Mayor John Tory echoed Cressy’s remarks, saying the protest in Toronto was “largely peaceful and respectful.”

“That it occurred in that manner is a credit to the leadership shown by @TorontoPolice, led by @Jamesramertps,” he wrote.

Tory also thanked Toronto residents and businesses, who he said “showed great patience and understanding while the protest was taking place.”

Toronto Coun. Kristyn Wong-Tam tweeted on Sunday, thanking police and city staff for their “smart and effective work.”

“This morning with exceptions of continued road closures around Queen’s Park and hospital row, downtown Toronto is quiet,” Wong-Tam wrote.

“Ottawa lessons meant we took action to protect rights & to keep our community safe.”