VicPD ends traffic support for weekly Palestine demonstrations, but demonstrations continue uninterrupted
Photo by Sabina Mendoza-Brown.
Victoria police have stopped providing traffic support and other police resources for the city’s long-running weekly pro-Palestine marches, which have taken place consistently since 2023.
In a statement released on March 25, the Victoria Police Department (VicPD) said that it would transition its operational approach after dedicating more than 10 000 officer hours to “managing” the demonstrations over the past two years. Effective April 4, officers will no longer manage traffic or provide related resources for the marching portion of the demonstration.
VicPD said the decision reflects mounting operational strain. “The ongoing demands for the weekly Palestine marches have placed significant strain on our officers,” VicPD said in a statement posted on Facebook on April 4, noting that many officers have been “repeatedly assigned to the same duties over an extended period.”
“Protecting officer wellness is essential to maintaining effective policing across our communities,” the statement continues..
VicPD said it supports the right to peaceful assembly, but is urging demonstrators not to march on roadways due to “serious and immediate safety risks.” Instead, VicPD has encouraged participants to remain on the Legislature lawn, which they have described as a safer and more controlled environment.
Despite the change, demonstrators have continued marching, without police support.
On April 4, dozens of people marched through downtown Victoria without a police traffic control presence. With the help of demonstrators wearing yellow vests, who assisted in guiding the march and redirecting vehicles, the group temporarily blocked traffic along Government Street. Victoria News reported no clashes with drivers as a result of the temporary blockage.
Though VicPD did not deploy officers to assist in traffic control, they did actively upload updates to X throughout the rally, providing information about traffic impacts where the rally took place.
Organizers say that the absence of police does not change their plans.
In a statement shared on Instagram by coastsalish2palestine on March 25, organizers said the marches have always been peaceful, and that safety has consistently been maintained by their own volunteers, who step in to de-escalate tensions that arise from counter-protests.
The statement also said that police involvement was never requested by the organizers.
“Whatever hours and monies that VicPD has chosen to spend on accompanying the marches is VicPD’s decision alone,” the group stated. They said that numerous officers, vehicles, and even drones were deployed by the department.
Anas Al Salah, who has helped organize many demonstrations, said in a statement that since July 2025 the organizers have made it clear that they do not want police presence at their demonstrations. “They had their own trained marshals. They had their own systems,” he said. “They made clear that their right to protest does not require any form of consultation with the police.”
The demonstrations, he said, are a “political expression again genocide and settler colonialism — a system VicPD should be familiar with, operating as it does on unceded land.” Al Salah also said that participants include “people of all faiths and none,” including Indigenous, Jewish, and Palestinian individuals.
He said that as Canadian citizens, their role is to end the government’s complicity in apartheid, occupation, and genocide, using all legal means possible. “It’s VicPD’s job to facilitate lawful assembly and ensure public safety. We’re doing our job. VicPD should stick to doing theirs.”
The issue raises broader questions about the balance between public safety, resources, and rights. Al Salah argued that marching on public streets is protected under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and asserted that limiting marches under the justification of operational strain risks undermining those protections.
Al Salah also said that they have adjusted marching routes from Douglas street to minimize the impact on traffic and local businesses, and the feedback they have received from passers-by has been “overwhelmingly positive.” He said that the marching portion typically lasts about an hour, with much of that time spent in pedestrian areas of Government street.
For now, both sides appear firm in their positions. Police are stepping back from direct involvement in marches and organizers are committed to continuing them.
“We will not stop marching,” Coastsalish2palestine said in their statement, “We will not stop until the Canadian state completely ends its complicity in apartheid, war crimes, and genocide in occupied Palestine.”
