A dinner for Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni hosted by Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau was to have taken place at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) in Toronto on Saturday evening (2 March), but was abruptly cancelled when several hundred pro-Palestinian protesters interceded, blocking entrances and voicing their displeasure over Canada’s handling of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.The AGO went into lockdown over the protest, which was initially reported by CBC News and local media outlets.
The two Group of Seven (G7) leaders were meeting in Toronto to discuss a variety of issues, including what Meloni was quoted as calling the “very difficult Middle East crisis”. She had been in Washington, DC earlier in the week.
Canada’s international development minister, Somalia-born Ahmed Hussen, was also on hand on Saturday. He reportedly attempted to enter the gallery through its main entrance on Dundas Street, but was thwarted by protesters.
A subsequent Globe and Mail story said there were no arrests or injuries reported, though the events are under police review according to Toronto Police Service (TPS) spokesperson Stephanie Sayer.
“Ultimately, the prime minister’s team decided not to proceed,” Sayer said in a statement. “It was not at TPS’s recommendation that the event be cancelled, and many guests were already inside.”
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), which oversees security for the prime minister, had a different take according to the Globe and Mail, feeling it was unsafe for the event to continue. Spokesperson Charlotte Hibbard referenced “the size and volatile nature of the crowds at the entrances to the venue”.
Hibbard added: “Toronto Police Service and the RCMP were mobilised to make the area safe for the prime ministers to enter, but an estimate of how long it would take to make the entrances safe and accessible […] could not be guaranteed before the end of the short event.”
A spokesperson for the AGO had not responded to The Art Newspaper’s inquiries as of press time.