A major rally is set to march down Yonge Street in North York today as Toronto police expect more than 200,000 people to gather in solidarity with anti-government protesters in Iran.
Police closed roads, including portions of Yonge Street and North York Boulevard, ahead of the protest, which they say will cause extreme traffic and transit delays.
The rally is set to be one of many happening worldwide today as part of what Iran’s exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi labelled a Global Day of Action.
Pahlavi said Toronto, Munich and Los Angeles would be the main gathering points for Iranians living abroad to protest and call for regime change in Iran.
The facts about Iran protest flags
Iran has been gripped by countrywide protests since late December, sparked by an ongoing economic crisis that has sent the country’s currency into freefall. While protesters were initially focused on Iran’s economy, demonstrators pivoted to calling for an end to Iran’s Islamic Republic, with some supporting the return of the ousted monarchy to power.
Iran’s government, which has cracked down on protests and implemented an internet blackout, said more than 3,000 people have been killed since protests broke out.
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in counting deaths during previous rounds of unrest in Iran, put the death toll at over 7,000.
Today’s rally comes two weeks after a major protest in Toronto’s Sankofa Square, which Toronto police estimated was attended by 150,000 people.
There, some protesters called for international intervention in Iran and an end to government repression.
The TTC noted some service alerts on its website ahead of the rally:
In an post to social media, Toronto police said Yonge Street will be closed southbound from Steeles Avenue for the demonstration. They add drivers should expect delays in the area and consider alternate routes for travel.
