Toronto police reopen some roads closed over potential anti-mandate protests

Police in Toronto reopened several roads Sunday morning after closing them in anticipation of potential anti-mandate protests.

In a tweet Sunday morning, Toronto police said Queen’s Park and hospital row — University Avenue from Bloor Street to Queen Street — remain closed.

Yet the force said all other roads are now open.

“We will continue to monitor and there will be (an) increased police presence in the downtown core,” the tweet reads.

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The roads were closed on Saturday, after police said “several trucks came into the city” to “cause disruption” Friday night.

That’s when police made the decision to “close further roads to ensure more couldn’t get in.”

For the last two weeks, there has been an increased police presence in the downtown core near Queen’s Park, where anti-mandate protesters have gathered in solidarity with the so-called “Freedom Convoy” demonstrators in Ottawa and across the country.

The demonstrations, initially aimed at denouncing vaccine mandates for truck drivers crossing the Canada-U.S. border, have since morphed into a protest against a variety of COVID-19 restrictions and the federal government.

Last weekend, hundreds gathered on the grounds of Queen’s Park carrying Canadian flags and signs that read “freedom.”

A week earlier, larger crowds gathered in the downtown core and temporarily blocked an intersection. Two people were arrested.