Go Ad Free

On Saturday, February 21, the Iranian community gathered at Vaughan City Hall. This time, it was not for a flag raising, rally, or protest, but to mourn the tens of thousands of lives lost in the current uprising in Iran.

The event opened with O Canada, which was followed by words of solidarity from Vaughan’s mayor, Steven Del Duca. Mayor Del Duca has not only shown his solidarity with Iran through words but also through action by having the Iranian Lion and Sun flag raised at Vaughan City Hall with zero pushback—something that has not been so easy to achieve in other regions.

The vigil honouring the victims in Iran at Vaughan City Hall opened with “O Canada.” pic.twitter.com/5SJc80mIuP

— Scarlett Grace (@ScarlettGrace92) February 21, 2026

Speeches from various other politicians, including Member of Provincial Parliament Michael Parsa, as well as musical performances, also followed. The mood was sombre but determined, as chants of “Democracy for Iran!” and “Freedom for Iran” rang out throughout the duration of the event.

The crowd at Vaughan City Hall, gathered for a vigil honouring the victims in Iran, is chanting:

“Democracy for Iran!”
⁰“Freedom for Iran!” pic.twitter.com/vAUnJw1iLq

— Scarlett Grace (@ScarlettGrace92) February 21, 2026

I was able to catch up with Ardeshir Zarezadeh of the International Centre for Human Rights, who has been the driving force behind efforts to get Iran’s Lion and Sun flag raised at Toronto City Hall. When we last spoke at Richmond Hill’s flag raising for Iran’s historic flag, Zarezadeh explained how the past two applications for the flag to be raised in Toronto had been rejected without explanation.

He sent a letter to Mayor Olivia Chow and made another official application on February 9. The third application to raise Iran’s Lion and Sun flag at Toronto City Hall was rejected. He was given the simple explanation that “it does not meet the City of Toronto’s Flag Raising program criteria.” Zarezadeh expressed frustration at this: “I explained in the letter why this is important ... She is still the Mayor of Toronto. She can’t disregard one community and advocate for another community.”

The previous Saturday, on Valentine’s Day, an estimated half a million people took to the streets in Toronto in support of the people of Iran and against the Islamic Republic—in what was Toronto’s biggest protest in history. The previous large rally for Iran, which gathered 200,000 people marching from Dundas Square to Queen’s Park, was reported by police to have had zero incidents. The Iranian community contributes greatly to the city: they keep the streets clean, and there is zero crime when they gather in large numbers. Their movement is unignorable, and many politicians—even Ontario Premier Doug Ford— attended. Absent still was Mayor Olivia Chow. “How is she going to ignore such a demonstration?,” said Zarezadeh.

In an email response to the International Centre for Human Rights, her office stated she was out of town on February 14 and further justified her absence by listing other things Chow has done to appease the Iranian community as of late, without showing explicit support of their cause. This still does not explain her absence on February 1, January 21, January 17, January 13, and January 10 at other major rallies for Iran that gathered tens of thousands of community members.