Skip to main content
new

Protesters gather at Dundas Square as part of the "Occupy Toronto" movement in Toronto, October 17, 2011.MARK BLINCH

Protesters took over intersections in Toronto's financial district and its busiest shopping area on Monday afternoon, tying up rush-hour traffic and drawing crowds of curious onlookers as they snaked through the centre of the city.

The route mirrored the one black-clad vandals took at protests against the G20 summit over a year ago, but the tone could not have been more different. Demonstrators, the local offshoot of the "occupy" movement that has been camped out at a downtown park since Saturday, chanted, danced and pounded drums, remaining entirely peaceful. At one point, they even sang a round of O Canada.

Police shadowed the march on bicycles but made no attempt to interfere.

Protesters first occupied King and Bay streets, outside the headquarters of most of the nation's banks. Next, they marched north to Yonge and Dundas streets, creating a "99 per cent" formation to echo the movement's contention that 1 per cent of the world controls most of its wealth.

The protest shut down the Dundas streetcar line before heading east and returning to Saint James Park at Jarvis Street.

About 200 people, nearly all of them youths and young adults, took part in the demonstration. While a handful identified with particular groups, including a contingent of First Nations activists, union banners and other visible displays of affiliation were largely absent.

This freewheeling form of organizing has been a hallmark of the protests: the entire crowd takes part in decision-making, and much of the march was spent in enormous group discussions on what to do next.

It has also led protesters to fragment, with some leaving the main group to stage smaller demonstrations.

On Monday morning, for instance, about 25 protesters stood outside the Exchange Tower before the markets opened for the day greeting traders arriving for work.

"We're just here to make our presence felt," said Vivien Endlas, a 20-year-old University of Toronto student with a sign reading "Make Love Not Money."

Later, a larger contingent marched to Ryerson University to rally with union members and students who are holding a social justice-themed week of events. They were addressed by Brigette DePape, the former Senate page fired for holding up a sign reading "Stop Harper" in the red chamber.

"What is so amazing about the occupy movement is that we are the 99 per cent," she said. "And what does that mean? That nobody gets left behind."

The international occupy protests, which began on Wall Street in lower Manhattan, have few specific goals, but are largely a reaction to unemployment and under-employment, with demonstrators calling for a more even distribution of wealth and greater corporate accountability.

In Toronto, protests started with a march in the financial district on Saturday morning, whence demonstrators went to Saint James Park, which has become a tent city and the launching pad for protests.

With a report from Kim Mackrael

Follow related authors and topics

Authors and topics you follow will be added to your personal news feed in Following.

Interact with The Globe