Toronto City Hall raises Palestinian flag, joining other cities across Canada

TORONTO – The mood was celebratory on the rooftop of Toronto City Hall on Monday morning, as dozens gathered in the brisk weather to watch the Palestinian flag fly over the building for the first time. 

The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians, which petitioned for the move, said ahead of the flag-raising that it would mark a “symbolic show of solidarity” for Palestinians in Canada on the 37th anniversary of the Palestinian Declaration of Independence.

On the rooftop, supporters joined chants of “free free Palestine” and lined up to have their photo taken with the flag before it was raised. Below in Nathan Phillips Square, several dozen supporters also gathered to see the flag go up, while some pro-Israeli protesters also stood in protest.

“It’s fantastic,” said ICJP lawyer Shane Martinez after the flag went up. “I’m very happy for the Palestinian community. This is something that was long overdue.”

It came after an Ontario court dismissed an injunction request on Monday morning from the Tafsik Organization, a Jewish advocacy group that argued the Palestinian flag has been associated with violence toward the Jewish community. 

“For the Jewish community for the past two years, the Palestinian flag has just been associated with hate, violence, antisemitism and anti-Zionism,” Amir Epstein, the group’s executive director, said in a phone interview on Monday afternoon. 

Epstein alleged that the flag has appeared at events that glorified the Hamas-led attack in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that killed 1,200 people and took more than 250 others hostage. 

That attack triggered the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. Palestinian health officials say more than 69,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory offensive against Hamas.

Martinez said his group learned of the injunction request on Friday and spent the weekend preparing submissions to ensure the flag could be raised. 

He argued the group’s legal case against the flag-raising was without merit.

“It was based on anti-Palestinian tropes, demonstrable falsehoods and really had a lack of any evidence whatsoever in support of contention that raising the flag would somehow do harm to the city of Toronto. What we know today from the celebration that we saw is that it’s actually done a lot of great for the city,” Martinez said. 

The flying of the Palestinian flag in Toronto follows moves from other cities including Mississauga, Ont., Brampton, Ont., and Calgary, which all flew the flag over the weekend. Manitoba also flew the Palestinian flag outside its provincial legislature on Saturday.

The City of Toronto flag policy states that other countries’ flags can be flown at city hall on national days or for special anniversaries – and dozens of flags, including Israel’s, are flown every year.

Along with its close allies Australia and the United Kingdom, Canada officially recognized the State of Palestine in September, amid an international push to end violence in the region.

Dania Majid, who was at Toronto City Hall on Monday representing the Arab Canadian Lawyers Association and the Toronto Palestine Film Festival, told the crowd the flag was more than just a symbolic gesture.

“The Palestinian flag comes about as a unifying symbol against colonial rule … that resists the efforts to erase us,” she said.

She added it represents “the Palestinian pursuit of justice on our indigenous lands and pride in our past and the agency in our future.”

For Epstein’s group and other Jewish community organizations, the flag-raising adds further strain to an already complex relationship between the Jewish community and the city.

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow received criticism after comments she made earlier this month at a charity gala. 

The Toronto Star has quoted Chow saying that Israel was committing war crimes and the “genocide in Gaza impacts us all.” Chow has since publicly defended the comments and cited international reports that accuse Israel of wrongdoing.

Chow was not in attendance at the flag raising on Monday morning. The city says as a general policy, the mayor does not attend national flag raisings. It also says flag raisings are managed by city staff on a first-come, first-served basis instead of being decided by council.

Toronto police said they arrested a 59-year-old man after he approached a victim and allegedly sprayed a substance on them during the event. 

The suspect was charged with assault with a weapon and administering a noxious substance with intent. Police said no injuries were reported in the incident.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 17, 2025.

 — With files from The Associated Press