17 MP Offices Taken Over Across Canada Demanding Ceasefire, and End to the Siege of Gaza and Support for Israeli Occupation

The actions in Burnaby, Edmonton, Guelph, Montreal, Ottawa, Kingston, Regina, Scarborough, Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria and Winnipeg today are organized independently by local constituents in each MP’s riding in solidarity with Palestinians Follow #PalSolidaritySitIn and @PalSolidaritySitIn for live updates and photos (photos also Here). See below for addresses and media contacts. 

The Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) is Canada’s largest coordination body of Palestinian rights demonstrations. Dalia Awad from PYM, which is unaffiliated with today’s sit-ins welcomed the actions saying, “As Canadian politicians continue to turn a blind eye to the genocide being committed in Gaza at the hands of Israel we stand firm in our demands for an immediate ceasefire, the placing of an arms embargo on Israel and an end to the blockade of Gaza. We know we must not stay silent as atrocities are committed against our people in Palestine and will continue to hold our elected officials accountable until our demands are met.” 

The MP office sit-ins come after Israel cut off all communications inside Gaza and launched a ground assault over the weekend. Israel’s siege on Gaza has already killed over 8,000 people, including over 3,000 children, since October 8th. One million people have been displaced and forced to move to southern Gaza which is also being bombed. On Israel’s orders, the entire 2 million people of Gaza have been without food, medicine and clean drinking water for 23 days. Israel has also jailed at least 10,000 Palestinians, the majority without trial or charges. Israel has also imprisoned 600 children as of the first half of this year.

Every major international and civil society organization has determined that Israel’s actions violate international laws and amount to war crimes. U.N. experts and legal scholars consider Palestinians to be at risk of genocide by Israel. The UN General Assembly voted for a “humanitarian truce”. Thousands of people have been marching in Canada almost every day for three weeks. Despite the global consensus, the Canadian government has refused to join the growing local and international calls for a ceasefire and a just peace. 33 MPs, including 23 Liberals, sent a letter to Prime Minister Trudeau to call for an immediate ceasefire. Constituents targeted MPs that have not signed the letter, while also demanding that they go further and demand an end to the siege on Gaza and end Canada’s support for Israeli occupation. MPs at all the offices today have been given letters to sign and deliver to the Prime Minister. 

Canada provides economic, military, and political support to Israel’s occupation of Palestine. In 2022, Canada exported over $21 million in military goods to Israel, including over $3 million in bombs, torpedoes, missiles, and other explosives. Since 2011, Canada has systematically voted against Palestine in standing resolutions at the UN. Canada has deployed special operations forces, including Joint Task Force 2 (JTF2), to Israel who are coordinating with the Israeli army. 

Palestinian Youth Movement has called for a cross-country day of action on November 4, 2023 as part of a Global Day of Action which will see demonstrations in dozens of countries. In the United States, tens of thousands of people are expected to converge in Washington, while Canada expects pro-Palestine rallies in cities and towns across the country.