Hundreds of people shut down University Avenue outside the U.S. Consulate in Toronto Monday for a demonstration in response to the immigration policies of U.S. President Donald Trump.

Protesters began lining the sidewalk outside the consulate on around 8 a.m., but quickly spread into the street.

They carried signs with slogans that read, “Do not scapegoat Muslim people,” “We will not go quietly,” and “Help refugees escape war.”

Nazerah Shaikh, her daughter and her three nieces carried signs reading: “The 6ix supports the Seven,” and including the flags of the seven predominantly Muslim countries against which Trump has leveled travel bans and restrictions.

“We’re disgusted and sad. That’s why we’re here,” Shaikh said.

“We do have close friends in Detroit who had to cancel travel plans because of these policies. Their citizenship is pending, and they have family here that they want to come and see, but they’re not sure they can.”

Toronto’s protest occurred alongside a similar one in Ottawa where about 2,000 people formed a human chain around the U.S. Embassy, braving freezing temperatures.

In Toronto, many of the protesters sat in the southbound lanes of University Avenue, where they chanted, “No hate, no fear, refugees are welcome here” as police officers looked on. Others jumped and stamped their feet to keep warm in the frigid weather.

Organizer Dave Meslin said the protest had also become an impromptu vigil for the six victims of the Quebec mosque shooting on Sunday night.

“Sympathies and condolences with our Muslim brothers and sisters in Quebec. We want to be a sanctuary city,” said Ahmad Gaied, an organizer with the Ontario Federation of Labour.

Gaied is the son of a first-generation Libyan immigrant family. He said amid the Trump-like rhetoric in Canada from Conservative leadership hopeful Kellie Leitch and others, it’s important to remember what Canadian values really mean.

Leitch has drawn criticism for advocating screening of potential newcomers for so-called Canadian values.”

“My parents love this country,” Ahmad said, who was wearing a Libyan flag as a cape, “and I love this country just as much. Everyone is welcome here and no one is illegal.”

The protest remained peaceful all morning, disrupted only once by an irate man shouting that the protesters were hypocrites who couldn’t see the danger of what he called “extreme Islam countries.” The man, who refused to give his name, got into a number of shouting matches with demonstrators before being asked to leave.

The crowd moved to Nathan Phillips Square around 9 a.m., where the “no hate, no fear” chant continued in front of Toronto city hall for about 30 minutes, before the demonstrators made their way back to the consulate.

Karl Gardner, an organizer with activist group No One Is Illegal, said Canadians and Torontonians need to be vigilant and not take the city’s multiculturalism for granted.

“Right now we have a sanctuary city policy on the books, but implementation and accountability have not been followed through with,” Gardner said.

A sanctuary city policy is one where municipalities agree not to report undocumented migrants or ask about a person’s immigration status during encounters with city staff.

But Gardner said Toronto’s policy exists in name only, and needs to be backed up with stronger transparency around exactly what measures are being taken to enforce it.

“We have no idea what training is being provided to (city staff) to not ask about immigration status, and to not tell on people to the Canadian Border Services Agency if their status does become known,” Gardner said.

“We need to turn this from a policy into a practice. A big hole is the Toronto police refusing to come into the sanctuary city mandate,” he said.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

Today’s demonstration followed a social media callout over the weekend, which was spurred by Trump’s order to ban travel to the U.S. from seven predominately Muslim nations.

In response, the consulate said that most consular services were suspended for the day in Toronto, including visa and citizen services. Despite the crowd size in Ottawa, a spokesman for the embassy said that services continued uninterrupted on Monday.

“Even demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and escalate into violence,” the consulate’s statement said.

“You should avoid areas of demonstrations, and exercise caution if in the vicinity of any large gatherings, protests, or demonstrations,” the statement said.

With files from Emily Mathieu

Read more about: