The Palestinian flag was raised outside Toronto’s City Hall on Monday, a first for Canada’s largest city after the federal government recognized the state of Palestine in September.
Canada joined a group of Western powers that included Britain and France in recognizing a Palestinian state during the United Nations General Assembly, a move that drew fury from both Israel and the United States.
After the recognition, a civil society group called the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians successfully petitioned for the Toronto flag raising, calling it “a symbolic show of solidarity.”
Toronto’s municipal government said it had approved the request as the flag now qualifies following Ottawa’s recognition “of the State of Palestine on September 21, 2025.”
The flag will be taken down later on Monday, the city said.
There were multiple efforts to stop the ceremony.
Toronto city council member James Pasternak said last week he had urged the city “to reverse [the] divisive and unjustified decision,” to allow the flag-raising.
Prominent Jewish advocacy group, B’nai Brith, warned the city’s decision would “inadvertently cause division and tension.”
There were isolated pro-Israeli protesters at the event attended by hundreds of people in downtown Toronto.
Police said one person was arrested for assault, but did not provide details about the accused.
I absolutely do not agree to flying the Palestinian flag anywhere. Palestine is not a state or a country and it will not be until Hamas is completely destroyed and they lay down their weapons So far, they have refused to disarm which means there is no peace treaty. The fact that the Palestinian people knew about the terrorist tunnels and the hostages means they were complicit in war crimes and must be held accountable. Since it was Hamas that started the war they are responsible for reparations.