Pride flag protesters outnumbered by counter-protesters in Sudbury
There was a moving scene in front of Sudbury's Rainbow District School Board on Friday as hundreds came out to protest what they saw as hate.
Knowing that members of the Freedom Convoy Protest planned to gather in front of the board protesting queer education, the Pride flag and the 2SLGBTQI+ community, counter-protestors put out a call for support.
On Friday, there were more counter-protestors and allies of pride than convoy members. They came with music, rainbow flags and cupcakes, outnumbering them at one point 20-1.
Their message to those kids and students seeing the display? Hate will not win and we stand with you.
“It's really one of those things where I felt enough is enough, someone has to stand up to this rhetoric,” said organizer Shawn MacLaren.
"I made a post jokingly, saying hey this is happening on Friday at 11, they're going to be here, does anyone want to counter-protest? And I got a massive response and people were like – oh we were going to go anyways."
"It's important for us to let the kids know especially we support them,” said Julie Hayes.
“We want them to know they won't be bullied."
- Download the CTV News app now and get local alerts on your device
- Get local breaking news and updates sent to your email inbox
While Canadians are usually quiet, Linda Levesque said we know when to step forward.
“You have to stand up and say everybody is equal, everybody deserves to be treated the same and so I'm coming out to support them 100 per cent," Levesque said.
While words were exchanged, the protest and counter-protest –remain peaceful. Sudbury police were also on hand to keep an eye on the interactions.
Top Stories
-
-
-
DEVELOPINGDEVELOPING Canada Post workers go on strike Friday morning, disrupting deliveries
-
-
-
-
-
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING
BREAKING FBI releases new image of Canadian former Olympian sought on murder and drug charges
The FBI has released a new image of Ryan James Wedding, the Canadian ex-Olympian allegedly behind a deadly international drug ring.
DEVELOPING
DEVELOPING Canada Post workers go on strike Friday morning, disrupting deliveries
Canada Post workers are on strike after failing to reach a negotiated agreement with their employer. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers says approximately 55,000 workers are striking.
W5 Exclusive
W5 Exclusive Police bust reveals stolen vehicles en route from Canada to Africa – with reprogrammed key fobs
In part three of a CTV W5 investigation into how car thieves are able to drive off with modern cars so easily, correspondent Jon Woodward accompanied York Regional Police on a bust to find clues in one vehicle.
opinion
opinion Canada's immigration crackdown could make for a more willing partner in Trump
Washington political analyst Eric Ham says recent immigration crackdowns in Canada could be the basis for a friendlier relationship with the U.S., during President-elect Donald Trump's second four-year term.
Debris collected after unidentified object shot down over Lake Huron in 2023
Newly released documents show the Royal Canadian Mounted Police collected wreckage after an unidentified object was shot down over Lake Huron in February of last year.
U.S. deploys facial biometric system at Peace Bridge border crossing
U.S. border officials have deployed an 'innovative facial biometric test' in select lanes at the Peace Bridge Port of Entry.
What to know about bird flu, poultry and dairy farms
People have been hearing a lot about H5N1 bird flu -- or highly pathogenic avian influenza -- since a B.C. teen became the first human to get the virus in Canada and is in hospital.
Insurers say bear that damaged luxury cars was actually a person in a costume
The California Insurance Department said four Los Angeles residents were arrested Wednesday, accused of defrauding three insurance companies out of nearly $142,000 by claiming a bear had caused damage to their vehicles.
Taylor Swift in Toronto: Highlights from Night 1 of the 'Eras Tour'
'Toronto, Welcome to the Eras Tour!' Taylor Swift told a roaring sold-out crowd at the Rogers Centre on Thursday night as she began the Canadian leg of her record-breaking tour.
Shopping Trends
The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at CTV News. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop. Read about us.
Barrie
-
Fatal head-on collision in Cookstown
A head-on collision took the life a driver Thursday night.
-
Missing teenager in Tiny Township
Police are asking for the public's help locating a missing teenager.
-
Man sentenced after pleading guilty to stabbing Barrie police officer
Nick Vassilodimitrakis appeared in a Barrie courtroom Thursday morning representing himself by video from a detention centre in London, Ont. where he pleaded guilty to stabbing veteran Barrie police officer Jim Peters.
Toronto
-
BREAKING
BREAKING FBI releases new image of Canadian former Olympian sought on murder and drug charges
The FBI has released a new image of Ryan James Wedding, the Canadian ex-Olympian allegedly behind a deadly international drug ring.
-
Toronto couple fights over Taylor Swift tickets in divorce settlement
A Toronto couple bought two tickets to one of Taylor Swift's tour stops in the city, but unfortunately their love story didn't last and now they're fighting for who gets the seats.
-
DEVELOPING
DEVELOPING Canada Post workers go on strike Friday morning, disrupting deliveries
Canada Post workers are on strike after failing to reach a negotiated agreement with their employer. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers says approximately 55,000 workers are striking.
Ottawa
-
Sir Winston Churchill 'Roaring Lion' portrait returns to Ottawa's Chateau Laurier hotel today
The 'Roaring Lion' will return to the walls of Ottawa's Fairmont Château Laurier today, nearly three years after the historic portrait of Sir Winston Churchill was stolen.
-
DEVELOPING
DEVELOPING Canada Post workers go on strike Friday morning, disrupting deliveries
Canada Post workers are on strike after failing to reach a negotiated agreement with their employer. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers says approximately 55,000 workers are striking.
-
Former Ottawa firefighter auctioning pair of Taylor Swift tickets for good cause
Like many of us, former Ottawa firefighter Derek Bowker had not luck scoring tickets to Taylor Swift's Eras Tour in Toronto. But that changed for Bowker after entering an online raffle last week.
Kitchener
-
'The Vac Man': Cambridge, Ont. man with autism can fix just about every vacuum
Most people run away from messes, but one Cambridge, Ont. man runs toward them.
-
Taylor Swift mania sweeps Waterloo Region as fans head to Eras tour in Toronto
The wait is finally over for thousands of Taylor Swift fans. The superstar kicked off the Toronto leg of her Eras tour on Thursday. We checked in with concert-goers in Waterloo Region and Guelph.
-
Goodbye CKCO: Crews complete teardown of CTV Kitchener's former home
The long-time home of CTV News Kitchener is now nothing more than a memory.
London
-
Crash involving LTC bus delays Friday morning traffic
There is no word on how the crash happened, but southbound lanes of Wonderland Road were blocked at Teeple Terrace, causing backups on Wonderland all the way to Oxford Street.
-
Debris collected after unidentified object shot down over Lake Huron in 2023
Newly released documents show the Royal Canadian Mounted Police collected wreckage after an unidentified object was shot down over Lake Huron in February of last year.
-
Tenants evicted by bailiff and police at infamous Webster St. apartments
It is the final stage in a long fight - Tyler Jollymore and his mother Michele are among dozens of tenants who received N12 and N13 eviction notices almost two years ago.
Windsor
-
Debris collected after unidentified object shot down over Lake Huron in 2023
Newly released documents show the Royal Canadian Mounted Police collected wreckage after an unidentified object was shot down over Lake Huron in February of last year.
-
Divide remains in Windsor on push for involuntary treatment
The head of the Windsor hospital specializing in mental health care, Bill Marra, has come out against a push from municipal leaders in Ontario to enact involuntary treatment as a way of dealing with the crisis around homelessness and addiction.
-
DEVELOPING
DEVELOPING Canada Post workers go on strike Friday morning, disrupting deliveries
Canada Post workers are on strike after failing to reach a negotiated agreement with their employer. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers says approximately 55,000 workers are striking.
Montreal
-
One voice, two solitudes: Calls for cultural crossover one year after Karl Tremblay's death
It’s been one year since Karl Tremblay, the lead singer of Les Cowboys Fringants, died of prostate cancer at the age of 47.
-
DEVELOPING
DEVELOPING Canada Post workers go on strike Friday morning, disrupting deliveries
Canada Post workers are on strike after failing to reach a negotiated agreement with their employer. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers says approximately 55,000 workers are striking.
-
Lockdown lifted after Longueuil train derailment
The containment zone has been completely lifted on Montreal's South Shore after a train derailed in the City of Longueuil's Le Moyne sector.
Winnipeg
-
Winnipeg driver rescues passengers from burning van
A Winnipeg driver was in the right place at the right time when a paratransit van caught fire Thursday morning.
-
DEVELOPING
DEVELOPING Canada Post workers go on strike Friday morning, disrupting deliveries
Canada Post workers are on strike after failing to reach a negotiated agreement with their employer. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers says approximately 55,000 workers are striking.
-
'No excuse for this': Winnipeg apartment building without mail for a year
Going to the mailbox to check for letters and packages is a daily ritual for many of us, but not for people living at a Manitoba Housing complex in Winnipeg. They're cut off from their mail.
Atlantic
-
DEVELOPING
DEVELOPING Canada Post workers go on strike Friday morning, disrupting deliveries
Canada Post workers are on strike after failing to reach a negotiated agreement with their employer. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers says approximately 55,000 workers are striking.
-
Halifax Water asks customers served by Lake Major to conserve water
Halifax Water is asking residents and businesses supplied by the Lake Major Water Supply Plant to begin following voluntary water conservation measures.
-
What to know about bird flu, poultry and dairy farms
People have been hearing a lot about H5N1 bird flu -- or highly pathogenic avian influenza -- since a B.C. teen became the first human to get the virus in Canada and is in hospital.
N.L.
-
Newfoundland man electrocuted by downed power line, two women injured
Police in Newfoundland say a man was electrocuted Saturday by a downed power wire about 10 kilometres north of St. John's, N.L.
-
What is 'recitation?' Newfoundland tradition-keeper returns to stage from 100-day cancer-treatment isolation
On Thursday morning, Dave Penny officially ended a suggested hundred-day isolation period that followed his diagnosis and stem cell treatment for non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. On Thursday night, Penny returned to a stage at a downtown St. John's bar, regaling a small crowd with songs and stories with a distinctive Newfoundland flair.
-
Newfoundland beach blobs are plastic pollution, but source remains unknown: scientist
A Memorial University scientist says the mysterious white blobs washing up on Newfoundland beaches are actually gobs of plastic -- and they need to be cleaned up.
Calgary
-
Canada Post strike halts mail, parcel deliveries across the country
Canada Post workers are on strike after failing to reach a negotiated agreement with their employer.
-
Talk of tax hikes and big borrowing ahead of Calgary budget discussions
Calgary councillors are set to start debating mid-cycle budget adjustments next week that include proposed property tax increases and a pair of borrowing bylaws that equal more than a billion dollars.
-
W5 Exclusive
W5 Exclusive Police bust reveals stolen vehicles en route from Canada to Africa – with reprogrammed key fobs
In part three of a CTV W5 investigation into how car thieves are able to drive off with modern cars so easily, correspondent Jon Woodward accompanied York Regional Police on a bust to find clues in one vehicle.
Edmonton
-
McDavid further cements legacy by reaching 1,000-point mark in Oilers' win
Connor McDavid has further cemented his legacy in the NHL history books. The superstar forward scored a goal to record his 1,000th career point and set up Darnell Nurse’s overtime winner for good measure as his Edmonton Oilers defeated the Nashville Predators 3-2 on Thursday.
-
DEVELOPING
DEVELOPING Canada Post workers go on strike Friday morning, disrupting deliveries
Canada Post workers are on strike after failing to reach a negotiated agreement with their employer. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers says approximately 55,000 workers are striking.
-
Man shot during robbery near Commonwealth Stadium, woman arrested
A man was taken to hospital after a shooting in central Edmonton Thursday afternoon.
Regina
-
Here are the headliners for Country Thunder Sask. 2025
Here are the headliners for the 2025 Country Thunder Saskatchewan music festival in the Craven Valley.
-
'The best human I’ve ever met': FC Regina honours one of their own in Movember campaign
At their seventh annual Movember soccer match this weekend, FC Regina will be honouring Gio Sosa, who passed away from cancer in 2023.
-
Police seize 31 guns from property, yard site in Lafleche, Sask.
Two people have been charged after Saskatchewan RCMP seized 31 guns from a residence in Lafleche and a rural yard site south of the town.
Saskatoon
-
Here are the headliners for Country Thunder Sask. 2025
Here are the headliners for the 2025 Country Thunder Saskatchewan music festival in the Craven Valley.
-
'It's unfortunate': Multiple issues led to delays in reporting Saskatoon elections results
Elections Saskatoon experienced a few issues Wednesday night, which translated into significant delays in reporting voting results for the 2024 civic election.
-
Cynthia Block will be Saskatoon's next mayor
Cynthia Block is the 29th mayor of Saskatoon, and the first woman elected to the position in the city's history.
Vancouver
-
B.C. mayor renews calls for national force dedicated to policing ports
The mayor of Delta, home to Canada's largest container terminal, says organized crime groups are exploiting security weaknesses at ports.
-
Vancouver police say one person taken into custody, later released, in hate case
One person was taken into custody over what Vancouver Police say is part of a hate-crime investigation.
-
'It was devastating, mentally': B.C. man shares stomach cancer journey
Carlos Parra had never heard of stomach cancer before receiving the call that he had been diagnosed with it.
Vancouver Island
-
B.C.'s chief vet tells clinics to set up bird flu protocols amid human exposure risk
British Columbia's chief veterinarian has told clinics that treat wild birds that they must establish protocols to prevent the spread of avian flu, warning of the risk of human exposure to the illness.
-
Post-secondary schools under financial pressure from federal cap on international students
Post-secondary institutions across Canada are feeling the pinch from the federal government’s cap on permits for international students.
-
Cowichan neighborhood seeking help to get cat out of tree
An orange tabby feline has been stuck in a tree for at least three days now in Maple Bay, and neighbors are looking for outside help to get it down.
