An animal rights march took place in Toronto on August 26 and the protestors managed to almost empty St. Lawrence Market. 

The protesters started their march at Berczy Park in Toronto on Saturday, August 26 and made their way to St. Lawrence Market, where they proceeded to disrupt shoppers. 

They briefly closed down the intersection of Yonge and Dundas, while letting off smoke flares in front of a video truck. They then filed into Nathan Phillips Square.

Jenny McQueen, one of the organizers, said, "We turned our megaphones to siren, and the public inside St Lawrence Market mistakenly thought we'd set off the fire alarm. Perhaps it's a sign to take notice and stop using animals."

A video posted by McQueen on Instagram shows the protestors holding up banners and posters showing images of animals in cages and laboratories, while others made noises with drums. 

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A post shared by Jenny McQueen 🌱 (@jennyveganmcqueen)

A snippet from the clip shows a passionate protester shouting into a microphone in an attempt to disrupt shoppers at St. Lawrence Market.

The protestors can be seen holding signs that read, "Animals are not ours to use."

The comment section under McQueen’s video showed a lot of support for the protestors who participated in the march. 

One person commented, "Amazing work everyone," before thanking the protestors, while another commenter described the march as "powerful."

However, not everyone from Toronto was pleased by the protesters participating in the march. 

I wonder who hired them. Hope it’s not a regular thing, a lot of residents down there depend on the market for reasonably priced food, not to mention the vendors doing business.

— Sara Scruton (@sara_scruton) August 26, 2023

Others soom chimed in, echoeing the concerns for local businesses.

Yeah protests like this hurt those farmers and vendors in the Market hall - on a Saturday, too.
It’s just wrong.

— Redbird (@RedBird74003923) August 26, 2023

Hundreds of people from many organizations joined the weekend march, including Direct Action Everywhere, Fur Free Toronto, and the Plant Based Treaty.

Wildfires have sent much of Canada up in flames this summer, and yet animal agriculture is one of the leading causes of Canada's greenhouse emissions, and water pollution.

According to the Government of Canada, 10 per cent of Canada's greenhouse gas emissions are caused by the production of livestock and crops.

The Facebook group for the event, Toronto Animal Rights March 2023, shows that 236 people confirmed that they would be attending the march.