VANCOUVER -- Thousands of protesters gathered outside the Vancouver Art Gallery Sunday, waving signs and chanting their support of the Black Lives Matter movement and George Floyd, the unarmed black man killed by police in Minneapolis last week.
Tristan Miura, who held up a skateboard painted with the words “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” said he hopes Vancouver will reflect on the protesters' message.
“Vancouver has always been quite liberal and very open about what they feel is wrong in the community,” said Miura. “I think Vancouver, as a whole, is taking this time to reflect on past issues and preventing further issues from occurring.”
Others hoped it would spark a larger reaction in Canada.
“I hope this is just the start,” said Chance Lovett. “I hope this is just the beginning of a larger conversation and a larger movement.”
Vancouver police told The Canadian Press there had been no arrests during the event, as of 7:30 p.m.
Sunday's protest followed a much smaller march on Saturday, which saw slightly more than 100 people take to the streets near Main Street-Science World SkyTrain Station and march to the intersection of Main and Hastings streets, where they blocked traffic for hours.
CTV News cameras caught protesters blocking the path of a car attempting to make a right turn at the intersection of Main Street and Terminal Avenue. The driver of the car accelerated slowly into the crowd, pushing some protesters back and eventually knocking one over while making the turn.
The incident was one of the only altercations during what was an otherwise peaceful rally.
With files from Nick Wells of The Canadian Press
