'If you don’t wake up, Canada will fall': Iranians give Canadians a warning at Toronto rally
Demonstrators draw parallels between Iran’s collapse and what they see unfolding in Canada
On Saturday, January 10, the same day an estimated 40,000 people flooded the streets of Richmond Hill for a rally in support of the uprising in Iran, some Iranians continued demonstrating into the evening.
At the intersection of Yonge Street and Steeles Avenue, just outside Centrepoint Mall, roughly a dozen Iranians — joined by Jewish and Canadian allies — gathered to wave Canadian and Iranian flags.
Rain or shine, we hold the line.
— Scarlett Grace (@ScarlettGrace92) January 11, 2026
🇨🇦 Toronto tonight. pic.twitter.com/3GFwXUo1G5
The protests inside Iran continue under an internet blackout, with limited information emerging only through Starlink. Iranians across the diaspora continue to demonstrate.
Several attendees at the flag-waving demonstration were also active participants in Canada’s freedom movement, having attended numerous rallies at Queen’s Park in Toronto since 2020. When I asked one demonstrator what similarities he sees between Canada’s freedom movement and Iran, he said:
“We lost our homeland to the unholy alliance of the red and black, I always say that. Red are marxists, any type of leftists and black are the muslim extremists. We are here, we know what’s been happening to Canada. First of all, I am fighting for my homeland and second of all I was in the freedom rally for three years because I have to also fight for this country.”
Another demonstrator reinforced the same warning, referencing Iran’s former monarch.
“Right now in Canada, the unholy alliance of the red and black, as the Shah of Iran called it – if you don’t wake up in Canada, Canada will fall.”
This is the alliance of the Red and Black reactionaries. The Shah talked about that several years ago.
— ماهک ♛ ✺𓄂 (@4CKIUI) January 6, 2026
coalition between Red: leftist and Black: Islamist pic.twitter.com/65eEueze6m
Among the crowd, there remains hope that U.S. President Donald Trump will follow through on his statement that he would help Iranians if the regime continues killing protesters. When I asked why Iranians in Canada are not expecting anything from Mark Carney, one demonstrator responded:
“I have no expectations from Marxist Carney.” He then issued a stark warning to Canadians: “Your country will be lost if Liberals continue the way they are. This mass immigration is a plan for invasion.”
Scarlett Grace
Anti-Discrimination Reporter
Scarlett Grace is a Canadian journalist and musician from Peterborough, Ontario. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Trent University and has spent over a decade performing live and releasing original music.
In 2022, her involvement in Canada’s freedom movement marked a turning point in her career and public voice. She later joined Rebel News, where she works as an anti-discrimination journalist, reporting extensively on the rise of antisemitism in Canada and the Iranian uprising.
https://twitter.com/ScarlettGrace92
COMMENTS
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Bruce Atchison commented 2026-01-13 20:00:17 -0500Was this what Jerry Harrison was referring to when he named his solo album The Red and The Black? Admiring minds need to know. ☺
But seriously, we’re falling for the same BS that the Iranian students fell for in 1979.
