VIDEO: Half a million join Greta Thunberg at Montreal climate rally
Greta Thunberg meets indigenous nations representatives during a press conference before the march for climate in Montreal. AFP
Half a million schoolchidren and adults marched with teen climate activist Greta Thunberg at a rally in Montreal as part of a wave of global "climate strikes," organizers said on Friday.
"Not only was it the biggest event in Quebec's history, but it is the biggest event in the world this week," one of the organizers, Francois Geoffroy, told the crowd.
Police have not provided an official tally.
Trudeau and other Canadian party leaders took a breather from a tight election campaign to join Thunberg at the Montreal rally -- along with around 500,000 protesters, according to organizers.
Walking with his wife and children, Trudeau mingled with a boisterous crowd that brandished placards reading "Respect Mother Earth" and "Make America Greta Again" -- a riff on a campaign slogan popularized by US president and noted climate change skeptic Donald Trump.
One man was tackled by security when he appeared to lunge at the prime minister, while 13-year-old Annabelle Vellend broke out in tears when she spotted Thunberg, telling AFP: "I really believe in Greta's movement."
"She is doing amazing things and it's great that she's able to press politicians to act on climate change, during an election," she said.
In his first term, Trudeau cast himself as a champion in the fight against global warming, but his green image was tarnished by his nationalization of an oil pipeline to salvage the construction project after years of delay.
The prime minister said after meeting Thunberg and pledging to fund the planting of two billion trees: "I agree with her entirely. We need to do more."
Tens of thousands of people marched to New Zealand’s Parliament on Friday, launching a second wave of worldwide protests demanding swift action on climate change.
The protests were inspired by Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg, who spoke to world leaders this week at a United Nations summit in New York.
A march to the Parliament in New Zealand’s capital Wellington was one of the largest protests ever held there and organizers needed to change their security plans to accommodate the swelling crowd.
Several million people took part in the so-called global climate strike last Friday, which was timed to coincide with the UN meeting. New Zealand and a number of other countries focused their protest efforts on the second wave, bookending a week in which climate change was at the forefront of the global conversation.
Thunberg tweeted that she planned to attend a protest on Friday in Montreal.
In Wellington, 18-year-old university student Katherine Rivers said it was great to see young people taking action and personal responsibility by marching.
“We need to stop pandering to some of the people who are making money off climate change. The big oil companies, the dairy industry etc.,” she said. “And make a change for the future of these kids that are here.”
Rivers, who is studying marine biology and environmental studies, said she hopes to make her career about improving the environment, adding that “hopefully I get to have a career.”
While thousands of high school students elected to take time off school to protest, there were also parents, office workers and many other adults who joined the marches. One of them was 83-year-old grandmother-of-three Violet McIntosh.
“It’s not my future we’re thinking about,” McIntosh said.
She said it was time politicians stopped talking and started taking action. She said they should listen to the young people like Thunberg, who she described as “amazing.”
“She stood out there by herself to start it all. Millions of people are following her now,” McIntosh said. “She should be very proud of herself.”
Associated Press
