Nationalist protesters have been praised for a protest inside a busy shopping mall in Canada where they displayed a banner reading “mass deportations now” in the lead-up to Christmas.
A group of masked activists held the protest at the White Oaks Mall in London, Ontario, during the pre-Christmas rush on Monday, with video showing the demonstrators standing near a Tim Hortons while shoppers walked past.
Police were called at 12.3opm but the protesters left before officers arrived, The London Free Press reported.
Demonstrators hold up signs that say MASS DEPORTATIONS NOW during the Christmas rush at White Oaks Mall In London Ontario:
We need more of this: pic.twitter.com/13aht78Lqi
— Bruce (@bruce_barrett) December 21, 2024
The footage of the protest received an overwhelmingly positive reaction in Canada, where recent polls show about two-thirds of voters believe the country has accepted too many immigrants, a majority think immigration is making the country worse off, and 48% back mass deportations.
One X user shared the video with the caption “we need more of this” and received hundreds of supportive comments.
“That would be the greatest Christmas gift we could receive!” said one commenter.
“I have never attended a protest in my life, because it just doesn’t suit my personality, but this cause is more than justified today and I endorse it,” said another.
Nationalist activist Rob Primo also posted images of the protest and wrote: “I’ve spoken with several people who don’t trust the mainstream media and want to share this: They’re grateful for your support of the ‘mass deportations protest’. In the new year, protests will pop up across cities – join them and show your support!”
The demonstration was even popular with users of dying left-wing echo chamber social media site Reddit where many defended the protesters with comments like “saying what we are all thinking”.
Canada recently lowered immigration targets for the next three years from 500,000 new permanent residents to 395,000 in 2025, 380,000 in 2026, and 365,000 in 2027 amid rising anger about the migrant-driven housing crisis after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau opened the borders after Covid.
According to Statistics Canada data released last week, there were 3,049,277 temporary residents in Canada (7.4% of the population) on October 1, while 124,239 permanent immigrants arrived in the third quarter of 2024.
The London protest came a month after more than a dozen black-clad activists held a banner with the same slogan outside the Jackson Square Mall in Hamilton on November 15.
Australian nationalists from the National Socialist Network displayed a similar “mass deportations now” banner at a protest in Melbourne in July before police broke up the peaceful demonstration.
