Prime Minister Mark Carney’s investment summit poses unique security challenges, experts say, in part because the Toronto event is expected to draw a large protest on Monday evening amid crowds of film-festival buffs and baseball fans.
The convergence of several high-profile events in the city’s downtown risks stretching the resources of police and other emergency responders, said Jack Rozdilsky, a York University professor who specializes in disaster management.
“There’s going to be a stress test on Toronto’s downtown core,” he said.
Toronto Police are ramping up security for the summit and officers expect to set up “intermittent rolling” road closings, said Stephanie Sayer, a police spokeswoman.
“The Toronto Police Service is preparing for a busy period in the city, with several major events taking place simultaneously,” she said in an e-mail. “We have plans in place to ensure public safety, manage traffic and minimize disruptions as much as possible.”
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Mr. Carney is welcoming major global investors on Monday and Tuesday at the Canada Investment Summit, where he will lead a pitch to draw billions in new capital to the country’s infrastructure, resources and industry.
A gala dinner is scheduled Monday evening at the Art Gallery of Ontario, and speeches, panels and other sessions will be held at the Four Seasons Hotel on Tuesday.
A coalition of groups, including those representing labour, Indigenous, housing and environmental interests, are planning a “mass protest” on Monday evening. Organizers say protesters will gather at Nathan Phillips Square and march to the AGO dinner.
“The message is that Canada is not for sale and that our future can’t be decided behind closed doors by billionaires, by bankers, by global investment firms,” said Bianca Mugyenyi, a protest organizer.
Robert Diab, a law professor at B.C.’s Thompson Rivers University, said events such as the investment summit and demonstration present challenges for police in balancing the rights to protest while maintaining public order.
“It will be interesting to see how the police handle this. Will they be cordoning protests off? Will they attempt to contain protests to a safe distance? And if so, what measures will they put in place to do so?” said Prof. Diab, who has studied policing of large events, including the trucker convoy in Ottawa in early 2022.
Protests planned for Carney’s Canada Investment Summit in Toronto
Ms. Sayer said Toronto Police are working with partner agencies, including the RCMP. She declined to provide details on tactics, resources or officer deployments, citing operational and safety concerns.
Andrew DiRienzo, an RCMP spokesman, did not provide responses to questions about steps the force is taking to ensure security at the summit, saying that it does not disclose information related to protective measures.
At the same time as the summit and protest, the Toronto International Film Festival is taking place at venues throughout the city’s downtown. The government has said that the summit was deliberately scheduled during the festival, which also attracts a global crowd.
In addition, there is a Blue Jays game on Monday evening, which will draw thousands of fans to the Rogers Centre.
Prof. Rozdilsky said the events “are going to be drawing upon the same police force, the same paramedic force, the same transit agency, all at once.”
To reduce security risks, he said officials should station a range of first responders at each of the sites so that crews are available immediately in the event of an attack, riot or other emergency.
Another risk, Prof. Rozdilsky said, is that a more typical problem cascades and becomes unmanageable – such as a car crash that paramedics can’t reach because streets are blocked.
Toronto Police are urging residents and commuters to plan ahead, allow for extra travel time and use public transit.
Ms. Sayer also said there will be airspace restrictions and “counterdrone measures” in place during the summit.