Premier Doug Ford seeking injunction to shut down planned Al-Quds Day rally in Toronto
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has instructed the provincial Attorney General to seek a court injunction against the Al-Quds Day rally scheduled for Toronto on Saturday.
“This afternoon, I’ve instructed my Attorney General to pursue an injunction against the Al-Quds Day demonstration planned for Toronto,” he wrote in an X post on Friday. “Hate, violence and intimidation have no place on the streets of Canada and our government will fight it however we can.”
This afternoon, I’ve instructed my Attorney General to pursue an injunction against the Al-Quds Day demonstration planned for Toronto.
— Doug Ford (@fordnation) March 13, 2026
Hate, violence and intimidation have no place on the streets of Canada and our government will fight it however we can. pic.twitter.com/5QbvxxpxOg
He posted the same message on Linkedin .
“This demonstration is nothing more than a breeding ground for hate and antisemitism. It glorifies violence it celebrates terrorism. It has no place in Ontario. It has no place in Canada,” Ford said in an accompanying video.
Two Toronto city councillors, James Pasternak and Brad Bradford, are also calling for an immediate injunction to stop the march.
In a statement released on Friday, Pasternak and Bradford said they are urging city solicitors to take legal action to stop the rally. They said they also want Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow to condemn the gathering.
Toronto synagogues and even the U.S. Consulate are being shot up. Public safety must be protected. @PasternakTO and I are calling for an injunction to stop the hateful Al Quds Day rally. pic.twitter.com/YkbFBdyY5l
— Brad Bradford (@BradMBradford) March 13, 2026
“Enough is enough,” the councillors said in their statement. “Protesters must be prevented from blocking ambulance routes and targetting businesses owned by members of the Jewish community and other minority groups. Torontonians deserve to go about their daily lives in peace and security, without hate and demonization.”
Bradford told CityNews in an interview on Friday: “I think we have to consider the environment in Toronto and around the world right now. The reality is we’ve had three synagogues shot up in the past week.”
He also mentioned the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Toronto, as well as “a vicious attack on a synagogue and Jewish school just yesterday, south of the border in Michigan…. So, I think the stakes are very high. There is a lot of tension right now and we have to prioritize public safety of all Torontonians, and a court injunction would be the best, most effective way to shut this thing down right now.”
In a statement release late Friday, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs said: “We commend the Premier of Ontario and the provincial government for taking decisive action to stop the Al Quds Day rally planned for tomorrow, Saturday, March 14 in Toronto … In the past week alone, there have been six incidents of gunfire targeting synagogues, Jewish and Iranian-owned businesses, and the United States Consulate in Toronto, the planned location for this rally. Amidst rising threats and violence, every level of government must use every tool available to ensure the safety of residents.”
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Al-Quds Day is actually on the last Friday of Ramadan, which is March 13 this year, but the rally in Toronto is scheduled for 3 p.m. Saturday.
Al-Quds Day was established by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini following the Iranian Revolution in 1979. Its stated goal is to express solidarity with Palestinians and opposition to Israel’s control of Jerusalem but the global events regularly feature calls for the destruction of Israel and the deaths of Israelis while expressing support for the Iranian regime and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a terrorist group banned in Canada.
On Tuesday, the U.K. government approved a request from the London Metropolitan Police to ban the event scheduled for Sunday due to a risk of “severe public disorder — running the risk of injury to members of the public, protestors, police officers.” The ban, which includes any planned counter-protests, started on Wednesday and will last for one month, police said.
National Post, with additional reporting from Kenn Oliver
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