Hundreds of protesters — including some associated with a pair of far-right groups — rallied on Parliament Hill Sunday afternoon to demand an apology from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The protesters wanted Trudeau to apologize for denouncing an alleged attack last month on an 11-year-old girl in Toronto, who claimed a man tried twice to cut off her hijab as she walked to school.
Toronto police investigated and later concluded the attack did not take place.
“We were hurt, we were upset,” said Monica Mo, who was attending Sunday’s rally.
The initial reports suggested the alleged attacker was Asian, and Mo told Radio-Canada that Trudeau’s remarks left the Chinese-Canadian community feeling unfairly tarred.