It was Canadian cold and Maritime wet. Still an estimated 100 Torontonians gathered across the street from the U.S. Embassy to protest and march in solidarity with the People’s March, the re-named and entirely restructured version of the 2017 Women’s March. Sister People’s Marches also happened in Regina and Saskatoon. Each drew approximately 100 protestors despite 40 below weather.
That’s a total of three marches, and about 300-400 people who participated in the People’s March in Canada.
Welcome to the age of the micro protest. Where small, community rooted resistance work takes the lead.
Reports say over 350 marches took place in the U.S. across the majority of states. However, the majority were also small in participant numbers, including Washington D.C. (approximately 5000+). U.S. participant rates across the board were roughly 10 per cent of the size and scale of the original anti-trump, feminist and women led march of 2017.
READ MORE: Trump’s re-election sparks another women’s march – but its not about women
Organizers of the People’s March in the U.S. say the ends justified the means—even if it meant less of a football stadium style splash. Tamika Middleton, co-organizer of the 2017 Women’s March and this year’s march said “A massive demonstration like the one in 2017 is not the goal of Saturday’s event. We’re not thinking of the march as the endgame. How do we get those folks who show up into organizations and into their political homes so they can keep fighting in their community’s long term?”
Organizers in Toronto knew participation rates would be modest. They still hoped and planned for 500-800. Weather played a role. But there were also other factors.
Cassie Norton, musician and founder of Marching Disorder, a Toronto-based music-making, social justice advocacy collective that voluntarily plays at marches and protest events explains the disappointing turnout this way: “People in Toronto are exhausted”.
The Toronto Police Service reports it has facilitated safety and handled administration for 650 demonstrations in the past 16 months. This represents a 40 per cent increase in protest activity since October 7, 2023; It translates into approximately a demonstration or march every two days.
Activist fatigue. Fear of potential violence. Feelings of resignation. They all played a role as well. Even though this march was intentionally re-designed to be more inclusive, community driven, and broader in appeal.
A change in strategy?
The concept of structuring resistance movements in a decentralized, more inclusive way is not new.
Non-violence activist expert, Nonviolence News newsletter editor and protest novelist (The Dandelion Insurrection) Rivera Sun says there were no People’s Marches where she lives in Maine.
Sun says that history demonstrates the effectiveness and longer-term sustainability of a dispersed, multi-nodal action strategy in the face of tyranny. Examples include Black Lives Matter and the 15-M movement in Spain.
Sun explained:
“This kind of dispersed mobilization saves movements time, money, energy. For example, traveling to D.C. overnight is a $500-1000 USD investment if you don’t have locals who can give you a place to stay. A decentralized approach can integrate economic justice into the movement by making acting more readily accessible to working class people. It also brings the message into the local community, engaging people where they live, which is important. Especially in rural regions or swing states or areas with lots of Trump supporters.”
Judy Rebick, renowned writer, journalist, activist and feminist agrees with rooting resistance in communities. Rebick also says that movements today need to build coalitions because the issues that affect our collective futures are all interconnected.
Rebick said: ” We must think of the People’s March in terms of a new beginning, not an ending or erosion of the Women’s March. Over the past eight years, the left has been losing ground. It’s time to truly reimagine how we organize, communicate, learn how to be with each other, differently. In Europe, they are bringing together not just individual people, but single-issue movements under one larger tent. Environmental movements. The Feminist movement. The Labour movement. Our progressive movements here need to start coming together and learn how to fight together. Even if it means working with people or organizations, we don’t always agree with it.”
Sun added: “Every act of resistance – small or large, local or national – makes a difference. We are fighting the chilling effect of fascism. Wherever and however people can find the courage to speak out against it hastens the day when we dismantle it and evict it from the halls of power.”
As Black feminist activist, author, adrienne maree brown says, “Small is all”.The next big opportunity to do so will be the International Women’s Day March, held on March 8 across the globe. This year’s global theme is #AccelerateAction. Watch for local march and event announcements in your city or town.
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Nick Seebruch, editor
