Thousands gather in Toronto to support Washington women’s march

By The Canadian Press

An estimated 60,000 people gathered outside the Ontario legislature in Toronto for one of many protests across Canada on Saturday in support of the Women’s March on Washington, organizers say.

Cleo Corcoran, 87, held up a sign reading: “I did the 50s, we are not going back.”

“Women are half the population and yet we are so often pushed to the back of the crowd,” Corcoran said. “Now we’ve got to come in front.”

Demonstrations have been planned in every major Canadian city as well as many smaller centres. Organizers say 30 events in all have been organized across Canada, including Ottawa and Vancouver.

In Montreal, more than 1,000 people are gathering ahead of the start of the city’s march.

Some are wearing pink knit hats and have painted whiskers on their faces, and carry signs with slogans such as “women’s rights are human rights.”

Many of the Montreal protesters say they are there to send a message that Trump-style politics, which they see as misogynist and divisive, are not welcome in Canada.

Officials in Washington say 500,000 people are expected to turn out for the march in the U.S. capital.

Roughly 600 Canadian travellers, most of them women, made the overnight trek on chartered buses from Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and Windsor to participate in that march.

There are also hundreds of protest marches organized in more than 30 other countries.

During last year’s presidential campaign there were accusations of sexual misconduct against President Donald Trump, while he came under attack from those who felt some of his comments toward women were disrespectful.

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