Teenage Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg was on hand as a more than quarter of a million people marched through the streets of Montreal demanding politicians do more to halt climate change.
Many of those politicians — including incumbent prime minister Justin Trudeau and Green Party leader Elizabeth May — were also on hand for the march, which began at Mount Royal Park at around noon on Friday, on its way to an end point somewhere south of Place Bonaventure.
Climate marches are taking place in several Canadian cities today, including Toronto and Vancouver. In Victoria, B.C., NDP leader Jagmeet Singh is joining climate marchers there.
Quebec's Environment Minister, Benoit Charette, was also on hand in Montreal, while his boss, Premier François Legault, was not.
Thunberg, whose solitary climate strike protests in her native Sweden eventually grew into massive global rallies around the world, said a few words to a throngs of people gathered at Mount Royal Park, shortly before the march began.
"I'm very excited to be here…to once again stand together, people from all round the world for one common cause that is very empowering," Thunberg said. "It is very moving to see everyone, everyone who is so passionate to march and strike. People of all ages, all generations, it's a very good day I would say."
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Quite the scene as you approach the end of the #climatestrikecanada #Montreal #cjad800 pic.twitter.com/BiNnB6IcLT
— (((Dave Kaufman))) (@TheKaufmanShow) September 27, 2019
Thunberg admitted she didn't have any prepared remarks, but speaking to reporters later, she was asked what message she has for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
"My message to all the politicians around the world is the same," she said. "Just listen and act on the current best available science."
Earlier in the morning, Trudeau met briefly with Thunberg at a Montreal hotel. She says she told him he wasn't doing enough to fight climate change.
Massive crowd now gathered for the kick off of the #climatestrikecanada #Montreal #cjad800 pic.twitter.com/XwNVansrje
— (((Dave Kaufman))) (@TheKaufmanShow) September 27, 2019
Thunberg is considered a hero by many, but has also been ridiculed by many others, including U.S. President Donald Trump, who sarcastically derided her in a tweet as "a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future." Hours later, Thunberg stole that line for her own Twitter bio.
"I don't understand why grown-ups would choose to mock children and teenagers for just communicating and acting on the science when they could do something good instead," she told reporters. "I guess they must feel like their views or interests are threatened by us. That is, we should take as a compliment that we are having so much impact and that the people want to silence us, we've become too loud for people to handle so they try to silence us."
Prime Minister Trudeau's appearance at the march, and at a news conference at the Delta Hotel just prior to it, did draw some hecklers. During the news conference, one man repeatedly shouted at him "you're not the solution, you're part of the problem" — taking the prime minister to task over pipelines, and the Liberal government's purchase of the $4.5 billion TransMountain pipeline, with the view to building the controversial expansion from Alberta to the B.C. coast.
On the march route, Trudeau was approached by someone who wanted to throw an egg at him. He was hastily wrestled down by police officers.
Estimates vary as to just how many people turned up for the Montreal event. City spokesperson Philippe Sabourin put the figure at somewhere around 250,000, while another official source told CJAD 800 that the number may be closer to 315,000.
Organizers, as well as Thunberg herself, say as many as 500,000 people showed up.
School strike. Week 58
— Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) September 27, 2019
Montréal. #ClimateStrike #FridaysForFuture #schoolstrike4climate pic.twitter.com/lbnFapwdkG
Greta Thunberg has arrived #CJAD800 pic.twitter.com/bU2jSlfANr
— Elizabeth Zogalis (@EZogalis) September 27, 2019
500’000 in Montréal. Change is coming!! #ClimateStrike #FridayForFuture #klimatstrejk pic.twitter.com/3NtyNk3dvh
— Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) September 27, 2019
At the end of the march, Thunberg addressed the large crowd.
“We’re at least 500,000 here today. You should be very proud of yourselves,” Thunberg said to huge applause, citing the figure released by march organizers. “We have done this together and I can’t thank you enough for being here.”
Later, she played to her audience by discussing some of the little differences between Canada and her native Sweden.
"It feels great to be in Canada, It's a bit like coming home," she told the crowd. "You're very similar to Sweden, where I'm from. You have moose and we have moose. You have cold winters and lots of snow and pine trees. We have cold winters and lots of snow and pine trees. You have the caribou, we have the reindeer. You play ice hockey, we play ice hockey. You have maple syrup and we have...well, forget about that one."
She then addressed those who skipped out on school and work to attend the march.
"We will do everything in our power to stop this crisis from getting worse even if that means skipping school or work,'' she said. "The people have spoken. And we will continue to speak until our leaders listen and act. We are the change and change is coming.''