Canadian Prime Minister condemns ‘antisemitic’ riots in Montreal

Canada’s Prime Minister has condemned the anti-Nato riots which erupted in Montreal last Friday, which saw “acts of antisemitism, intimidation, and violence” sweep through the streets.

Police said they made at least three arrests after two cars were set on fire, smoke bombs were ignited, and the windows of businesses were smashed, including those of the Palais des congrè, which was hosting a NATO conference.

During the evening, an effigy of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set ablaze and protesters waved Palestinian, Lebanese and Iranian flags, as well as one with the communist hammer and sickle.

The demonstration, organised by Divest for Palestine and the Convergence of Anti-Capitalist Struggles, was in reaction to the city hosting approximately 300 delegates for the 70th annual parliamentary assembly of NATO.

The conference, running from Friday to Monday, was about Ukraine, climate change and the alliance’s future.

The day before, pro-Palestine demonstrations had swept across Montreal, Canada’s second-largest city. Videos circulating on social media showed one woman walking in front of a crowd of Jewish counter-protesters, saying: “The final solution is coming your way, the final solution. You know what the final solution is?”

The protester, who also performed a Nazi salute, was later identified as the owner of two franchises of Second Cup, a Canadian coffee chain, located at Montreal’s Jewish General Hospital.

In a statement released on social media, the company said that it is closing those locations and terminating the owner’s contract.

“What we saw on the streets of Montreal last night was appalling," Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrote Saturday on X/Twitter, referring to Friday’s riots.

“Acts of antisemitism, intimidation, and violence must be condemned wherever we see them." He added that the Royal Canadian Mountain Police (RCMP) is in communication with local police, stating "there must be consequences and rioters held accountable."

The Prime Minister sparked outrage after clips surfaced on social media of him enjoying Taylor Swift’s Era’s Tour on Friday night as violent riots spread across Montreal.

The protest began at Place Émilie-Gamelin around 4:30 p.m, then merged with another demonstration near Place des Arts, according to Montreal police spokesperson Constable Manuel Couture.

It had turned violent by 6:10pm, when demonstrators lit a mannequin on fire, threw smoke bombs and metal barriers into the street to obstruct police work, then threw fireworks and assaulted police officers.

Police said they deployed chemical irritants and other crowd control measures to disperse the rioters after they had vandalised multiple storefronts. The demonstration was dispersed by 7 p.m.

Officers arrested a 22-year-old woman for assaulting a police officer an obstructing police work and two men, 22 and 28, for obstructing police work. All three are scheduled to appear in court at a later date.

Senior ministers in Canada condemned Friday’s riots, saying “hatred and antisemitism” have no place in the country.

“What we saw was not peaceful protest. What we saw was actually violence, hate and antisemitism, and this has no place on our streets,” said Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly.

“What we saw was not peaceful protest. What we saw was actually violence, hate and antisemitism, and this has no place on our streets,” she added.

Defence Minister Bill Blair called the riots an act of “anarchy” orchestrated by a “mob”,

“It was engagement in violence and hatred on display in the City of Montreal,” he said. “Those behaviours are unacceptable and we can condemn them, and in particular the hatred and antisemitism that was on display, in the strongest possible terms.”