VANCOUVER—Ten thousand people took to the streets of Vancouver to demand climate action on Canada’s newly elected government Friday, although some admitted they came mostly to meet teen climate crusader Greta Thunberg.

Thunberg spoke only at the end of a five-hour rally and march through downtown Vancouver, following speeches from dozens of local activists and Indigenous land defenders.

At one point as the speeches continued, people in the crowd waved heart-shaped picket signs and chanted, “Greta! Greta! Greta!” to urge her to take the stage sooner.

“They are selling our future for their comfort and profit,” Thunberg finally told the amped crowd at the Vancouver Art Gallery plaza.

“They have the nerve to look us in the eyes and tell us they are they doing enough. Whatever they are doing, they are doing it wrong,” she said to loud cheers.

During the march, protesters jostled to take a closer look at Thunberg, who was walking with a neutral expression and drooped shoulders in the middle of a group of volunteers.

The crowd spontaneously danced around her, chanting “We are unstoppable! Another world is possible!”

Volunteer security guards linked arms in a circle around the small group as media and demonstrators crowded around.

The guards continually asked people who were walking ahead and taking photos of Thunberg to move faster so as to not hold up the march.

Organizer Allie Ho told Star Vancouver they had anticipated that their guest would be treated like a celebrity, so they arranged safety features like the security team.

Ho said the formation of Sustainabiliteens Vancouver was inspired by Thunberg’s first climate strike in Sweden last year, but they want a sustainable movement that doesn’t depend on famous people like Thunberg.

“She’s our inspiration but she’s not our idol. She doesn’t want it to be that way. She wants to be treated like a normal school striker.”

“People should remember that we are fighting for the Earth and no matter who the person is on the podium, we are fighting for our futures,” Ho said.

Veteran environmental activist David Suzuki, who also spoke at the rally, told Star Vancouver Thunberg galvanized a massive movement but warned that people tend to have “the attention span of a hummingbird.”

“The pressure has to keep building. We need to see action in Ottawa. If the government continues to support a pipeline, they’re not hearing the message,” he said, referring to the controversial Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.

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“Quite frankly, I think we need to take over parliament buildings, and I think it should be old people like me who should take it over and invite young people to come in and be our politicians (instead),” Suzuki added.

Thunberg, known worldwide for her climate activism, has been travelling in North America since late August, after sailing across the Atlantic Ocean in a zero-emissions sailboat.

Since then, the 16-year-old has addressed world leaders at the United Nations Climate Action Summit in New York City, met with a renowned climate scientist at a field research site on the Athabasca Glacier and motivated crowds of climate strikers across the continent.

Thunberg’s message for Canadians is that urgent action is needed to avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis. She has participated in two mass rallies in Montreal and Edmonton since arriving in North America.

Friday’s rally in Vancouver was meant to keep up the pressure for climate action on a newly elected government, in the wake of a campaign that saw hundreds of thousands take to the streets in cities across Canada over the threats posed by greenhouse gas emissions.

“We are starting to see through their lies and will hold them accountable for their actions,” Thunberg had said in her speech.

It was clear Thunberg was preaching to the converted.

“We have to do something now. If we don’t, it’s going to get worse,” said Anna Merritt and Isabel Hébert, both 12, as young people started gathering hours before the rally began.

Both spoke of their admiration for Thunberg, and what she’s doing to “change the world.”

It wasn’t just the young in attendance in Vancouver on Friday.

“More information has come out about how detrimental this is going to be,” said Solomon Wollard, 12, as he marched with his grandmother, Erlene.

Erlene Woollard said she’s long been an activist, but called it “amazing” to see so many young people taking up the climate cause.

“I feel quite guilty and that’s one reason I want to be supportive,” she said. “It’s our generation, and the generation before and after, that have used so many resources.”

Ho said that despite the negative aspects of having people focused too much on Thunberg’s celebrity, the organizers were also pleased to see many new faces in the crowd who were newly engaged in the issues.

Nine-year-old Taya Atkinson told Star Vancouver she wanted to meet the girl who “made a big commotion” and “made a big difference.”

But after taking part in Friday’s protest, Atkinson now wants to take part in more climate protests.

With files from Ainslie Cruickshank and Cherise Seucharan

Joanna Chiu is a senior journalist for Star Vancouver covering both Canada-China relations and current affairs on the West Coast. Follow her on Twitter: @joannachiu

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