Thousands of protesters expected at various downtown Vancouver gatherings Saturday

Iranian-Canadians gather outside the Vancouver Art Gallery on Saturday, Jan. 10.

Vancouver police are expecting as many as 9,000 people to turn up at various protests in the city’s downtown core throughout the day Saturday.

At least 11 different gatherings were planned, many of them at the Vancouver Art Gallery, to express views on conflicts happening around the world, the Vancouver Police Department said in a statement earlier this week.

“We have seen an increase, an uptick, in protest activity throughout the city because of geopolitical events,” said VPD spokesperson Sgt. Steve Addison in an interview with CTV News on Thursday.

He cited the anti-government protests in Iran, weekly rallies over the conflict in Gaza and “the situation in the United States” as causes for protests in Vancouver last weekend.

Roughly 6,000 people attended various gatherings last weekend, and Addison said police are expecting “upwards of 7,000, 8,000, 9,000” this weekend.

“Last weekend, we had some conflicts,” he said. “Our officers were deployed to mitigate those conflicts, physically keeping protesters away from each other.”

More than 130 VPD officers were scheduled to be deployed for protests happening this weekend, including extra officers on foot and on bikes, as well as those with specialized training on managing large crowds.

“We really encourage people—if you are coming out to protest—be respectful of other people’s points of view,” Addison said. “We know that not everybody is going to agree.”

The objective for police, he said, is to facilitate people’s right to protest while maintaining safety and limiting unnecessary disruptions to traffic and non-protesters.

For those travelling to or through the downtown core for non-protest reasons on Saturday and Sunday, Addison’s advice was simple.

“Please, pack your patience and understand that we’re doing everything that we can to minimize the disruptions,” he said.