Hi friends and neighbours,

Not much of a preamble this week, as I'm traveling for work. The war on Iran is horrifying and our complicity in it belies every pleasant falsehood we've told ourselves about our national values. The poem We Lived Happily During the War by Ilya Kaminsky was gutting when it was published in 2013 but every year it becomes even more horrifyingly salient.

It's tempting to look at the world around us, conclude that all is lost, and draw inwards into ourselves. But there is no such thing as inevitability; the future is never certain until it has passed. I don't know what's going to happen, and neither does anyone else. Given that the possibility of changing the future is always there, no matter how seemingly small, the only moral response is to work towards the future you want to exist. That was true last week and it is still true today.

Thank you for showing up.

Jenny

Events this week

Tuesday, March 3, 2026 🔗

1PM — Fight Off Ford: Banner Making Workshop (SL222, U of T)
UTSC Communists - Calling UTSC students! Join for a banner marking workshop to prepare for the March 4th rally at Queen’s park to fight Ford’s OSAP cuts with a student strike!

2:30PM — Policing Madness (HNES 140, York University)
The Mad Studies Hub - This event brings together community, organisers, researchers, and students to discuss the intersections between mental health, homelessness, and police abolition on-and-off York University campus. Food and refreshments will be available! Please bring any new, or gently used, clean sleping bags, tents, tarps, backpacks, or sealed hygiene products.

6PM — Volunteer for a Progressive Toronto (Main Street Station)
Progress Toronto - The right and local conservative politicians are working hard to bring back to the status quo of harmful cuts and underfunding vital city services. Join Progress Toronto in canvassing apartment buildings (out of the cold!) talk to people across Toronto about housing, services, and other issues that matter to them and help them take action.

6PM — OSAP Cuts Hurt Our Communities (Jane Finch Mall 50A)
Jane Finch Action Against Poverty - OSAP cuts and tuition fee increases will hit working-class and low-income students — and their families — the hardest. Join to learn more and share experiences and to support the “Hands Off Our Education” campaign.

6:30PM — Road Salt Alternatives Webinar (Virtual)
Ontario Salt Pollution Coalition - While there's scientific & civic consensus that road salt is a huge issue for our environmental systems, conflicting information abounds when it comes to salt alternatives. Join this webinar to sort through the realities, myths, and mysteries of alternatives to road salt and what you can do to help.

7PM — Civic Meetup - How is your local councillor voting on climate? (Hybrid)
Civic Tech Toronto - Civic Tech Toronto's weekly meetups bring together Torontonians who want to improve the city through design, tech, and data. A groups of researchers at ClimateFast have documented and analyzed every single climate-related voting records of City of Toronto councillors since 2018 to present. Come hear abotu the results! Followed by project breakout sessions.

7PM — Understanding the Indigenous-led Legal Challenge Against Bills 5 and C-5 (Virtual)
Ontario Nature - A panel discussion from Indigenous rights holders and legal experts about the importance of the legal challenge and how challenging Bills 5 and C-5 in the courts is expected to unfold.

7PM — Bikesauce Volunteer Orientation (341 Broadview)
Bikesauce Toronto - For all new volunteers and any existing volunteers who want a refresher on who Bikesauce are, what they do, and how you can contribute and grow your own skills.

7:30PM — Stop Bombing Iran Emergency Meeting (Spring Magazine)
Spring - A virtual public forum featuring labour leaders, activists, and anti-war organizers. The left urgently needs to come together against these forever wars being started in our name.

Wednesday, March 4, 2026 🔗

11AM — Fight Cuts to OSAP Walkout (OCAD)
OCAD U Communists - The provincial government has announced plans to attack student grants. With over 92% of Toronto students already feeling economically burdened by tuition, this makes education impossible for entire generations. Join the OCAD campus walkout and march to Queens Park as a group to demand decisive action!

12:30PM — Hands Off Our Education Rally: Provincial Day of Action (Queen’s Park)
Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario - Join the upcoming Provincial Day of Action to protest the Ford government’s cuts for studnet funding. Support the #OntarioStudentStrike!

1PM — What if Sports Were What Men Need Them To Be (Virtual)
Neighbours, Friends and Families - Join public educators Maddy Kenyon (she/they) and Landon Kenney (he/him), from the Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region, as they unpack the complex roles sport plays in developing masculinities.

3PM — Queer Black Futures Film and Panel (First Student Centre 430, York)
OPIRG York - After 100 years of remembering Black history and past achievements, it is time to celebrate and bring forth the bright future that surrounds Black communities as well! Come out to share art, eat an achievement cake, and watch a short film followed by a panel discussion.

5:30PM — Bikechain Volunteer Orientation (Bikechain, 230 College St)
Bikechain U of T - Bikechain is an educational bicycle repair space serving the University of Toronto and the public, offering a variety of free services to students. Come learn more about volunteering at Bikechain – no experience required.

5:45PM — Doorknocking for Palestine (Available upon RSVP)
Davenport 4 Palestine - Davenport 4 Palestine is doorknocking in the neighbourhood to mobilize neighbours in support of a real arms embargo. No experience is necessary, you'll be paired up with a seasoned doorknocker. RSVP by emailing at davenport4palestine@gmail.com.

6PM — Volunteer for a Progressive Toronto (High Park Station)
Progress Toronto - The right and local conservative politicians are working hard to bring back to the status quo of harmful cuts and underfunding vital city services. Join Progress Toronto in canvassing apartment buildings (out of the cold!) talk to people across Toronto about housing, services, and other issues that matter to them and help them take action.

6PM — 2600 Don Mills Tenant Organizing Event (5 Fairview Mall Dr)
Build a Better Fairview - If you're a tenant at 2600 Don Mills, join this meeting to find out how to better connect with your neighbours to advocate for issues in the apartment affecting you.

6PM — Nothing Grows Alone: Lessons from Plants and Fungi (Virtual)
Disability Justice Network of Ontario - The second workshop in DJNO’s climate future series, on lessons form plants and fungi and how survival depends on relationships and interdependence.

Thursday, March 5, 2026 🔗

11:30AM — Building a Culture and Practice of Community Care on Campus (Daphne Cockwell Complex)
TMU Office of Social Innovation - Featuring disability justice scholar and care collective organizer, Dr. Loree Erickson, and collective care artist–researcher and TMU alum, L. Morris, this conversation and workshop will take up how we care for one another in university.

12PM — A History of Girl Gangs, Non-binary Skateboarders and Skate Zines (Virtual)
Toronto Public Library - Celebrate International Women's Day by learning about a unique, untold history of women and non-binary skateboarders! Join Natalie Porter, author of a new book on the unsung women, BIPOC pioneers, and queer trailblazers who helped shape skateboarding.

2PM — Zoning for Low-Carbon Technologies: Session Two (Virtual)
City of Toronto - City Planning and Environment, Climate & Forestry want to hear from you as we propose modernizing zoning rules for renewable energy and other low carbon technologies.

2PM — Advancing Justice & Equality: Voices from Legal Frontlines Across the Globe (Baha’i Centre)
Crossroads International - An International Women’s Day public panel exploring access to justice and transformative equality through the voices of women working on legal frontlines around the world, bringing frontline insights from Canada, Uganda & West Africa.

3PM — Fridays 4 Palestine (Yonge and Bloor)
Fridays4Palestine - Come show your support for Palestinians every Friday at the Israel Consulate. Stand up for human rights and say no to genocide.

6PM — Abolition Pub-Ed with Dr. Moyo Mutamba (Virtual)
Disability Justice Network Ontario - Grounded in the mindset that conflict is an opportunity to deepen relationships, this participatory workshop supports participants to move beyond avoiding or managing conflict toward transforming it.

6PM — CivicTechBrampton: Open Data Peel (8 Queen St E, Brampton)
CivicTechBrampton - Inviting all technologists, students, citizens interested in working on Open Data projects. Open Data Peel will present available datasets and ways to work with their data. Beginners welcome!

6:30PM — Higher Education Organizing: Power Mapping (College St United Church)
Socialist Project - All working in and around a university or college campus is invited to the third open organizing meeting for higher education! This meeting will be focused on power mapping the higher education sector, including a presentation of a sectoral collective bargaining tracker to see where the upcoming contract fights are happening and presentations on the state of organizing at a number of GTA campuses.

7PM — PHP4P Community Meeting (Available upon registration)
Parkdale-High Park for Palestine - PH4P is hosting their next community meeting! In-person participation is strongly encouraged, but an online option will be offered. These meetings give you a chance to meet your neighbours and build momentum together! All levels of experience are welcome.

Friday, March 6, 2026 🔗

11AM — Donation Packing Party for Cuba (Stong College Room 314)
York U 4 Cuba - A donation packing party! Come meet the organizing team, connect with fellow students, and help make a difference in the community. Bring your energy and any donations you would like to contribute as we pack everything before it is sent off.

6PM — Abolition Pub-Ed with Thaila Dixon (Virtual)
Disability Justice Network Ontario - This workshop examines child welfare and family policing through an abolitionist and survivor-centered lens, with a particular focus on the language used to name those impacted by these systems. The session explores the emergence and political significance of identifying as a “child welfare survivor,” and how this naming challenges dominant narratives of protection.

6PM — Reimagining Safety Screening (1300 Gerrard St E)
East End Acts - A special screening of Matthew Solomon's Reimagining Safety, which discusses how policing and incarceration create more harm than good. The post-film panel will include Rania El Mugammar, Mskwaasin Agnew, Desmond Cole, and director Matthew Solomon. Proceeds from tickets and the fundraiser bake sale will be distributed to mutual aid groups in Toronto.

6PM — Cabaret Radical Purim Party (58 Cecil St)
The Morris Winchevsky Schools - Fundraiser for Crips for Esims for Gaza and Gazan Canadian Families. Purim has always been political. Yiddish theatre-makers, Jewish misfits, and rabble-rousers of all stripes have been suppressed by inquisitions, czars, states, censors, and police for centuries. Join for a ride through queer, Jewish time.

7PM — Bread and Roses, Peace and Justice (United Steelworkers Hall)
A free event commemorating IWD's internationalist roots. Includes speakers and performers, as well as a collaborative banner-making for the IWD march the following day. Refreshments will be served.

7PM — Reimagining Safety Screening (Redwood Theatre)
East End Acts - The documentary Reimagining Safety explres how policing and incarceration create more harm than good. Come join your east end neighbours for a screening, followed by a panel featuring director Matthew Solomon and local experts to hear about how we can build safety through justice, community care, and collective liberation.

7PM — Mutual Aid Collage Night (247 Coxwell Ave)
Mischief Makers Toronto - What better way to work through what's going on in the world than collage - it's immediate, it's meditative, it's accessible, it's beginner friendly. Come make art and talk community and mutual aid with Mischief Makers and Community Fridges Toronto! PWYC.

Saturday, March 7, 2026 🔗

11AM — International Women’s Day Rally and March (252 Bloor St W)
IWD Toronto - Rise and Resist! March with thousands at North America’s largest International Women’s Day event since 1978. Rally at 11am, March at 1pm.

1PM — BDS Leafletting (900 Dufferin St)
Davenport 4 Palestine - Join Davenport 4 Palestine for the weekly BDS leafleting campaign at Dufferin Mall. Meet outside south entrance and buddy up – no experience necessary!

4PM — Iran, Sanctions & Anti-Imperialism (Available upon registration)
Alliance of Workers and Students - A structured political education panel on Iran, anti-imperialism, and the war of sanctions. This event is intended for organizers, students, and workers in Toronto seeking grounded political clarity beyond dominant media narratives.

Sunday, March 8, 2026 🔗

11AM — Gaza Square (371 Wallace Ave)
Davenport 4 Palestine - Davenport 4 Palestine invites you to come hang out at Gaza square on Sunday mornings with hot chocolate and coffee, buttons and posters, lawn signs and colourful chalk. Come say hi and meet your fellow neighbours/organizers as they make their presence known and continue to build safety in their community!

11AM — Sundays 4 Palestine (Bathurst and Sheppard)
Sundays4Palestine - Weekly counterprotest to the Zionist community that comes out to celebrate the ongoing genocide in Palestine. Flags and signs provided.

12PM — Involuntary Treatment: What Are We Really Being Asked to Accept (Virtual)
Moms Stop The Harm - Across Canada, calls for involuntary treatment are gaining political and media traction – often framed as compassionate responses to the overdose crisis. What does it really mean? Explore the evidence, ethics, and real-world impacts of coercive drug policy, including human rights considerations and evidence-based alternative that save lives.

1PM — Friends and Families for Safe Streets Peer Support Meeting (401 Richmond St W, Room 375)
Friends and Families for Safe Streets - Peer support group meetings for adults who are bereaved through the death of a family member or friend by road violence, and for those who are recovering from traumatic injury in a collision with a vehicle. If you are struggling, you are not alone.

1PM — Strong Towns Toronto’s Monthly Meeting (The 519)
Strong Towns Toronto - ​Come meet other folks interested in urbanism and community building at Strong Towns Toronto's monthly meeting! Get involved in grassroots advocacy to make Toronto a safer, more people-oriented, more financially resilient city.

2PM — Make and Mend Social and Skill Share (The 519)
Toronto Aces and Aros - Want to repair a ripped shirt, untangle a chain, fix an earring? Maybe have something else you've been meaning to tinker with or a diy/portable project or craft? Bring something to work on, come to share your skills or just come hang out! Masks required.

3PM — Femme Friendly Bike Fair (163 Queen St E)
A free indoor community fair for women and their friends to gather and get the support and encouragement they need to discover the freedom and joy of biking in Toronto without fear of judgment. People of all ages, abilities and mobilities are welcome. Also collecting items for local women in need.

6:30PM — East End Community Iftar (Ralph Thornton Community Centre)
East End Acts - This Ramadan, come together in solidarity with the Palestinian people, honouring their resilience and strength. Enjoy a delicious meal prepared by a community member from Gaza, engage in meaningful discussion, and connect with neighbours, friends, and family in the spirit of community and resistance. All proceeds to Palestinian mutual aid.

7PM — Queer Self Defense (12 Alexander St)
Queer Self Defense Toronto - Another self-defence class, tailored specifically for the queer community! No registration is required! Just show up! A place for anyone to learn precious skills that ultimately make you more confident and your loved ones safer.

Monday, March 9, 2026 🔗

12:30PM — Weekly Phone Zap for Palestine (Virtual)
Toronto Zaps For Palestine - Join with organizers from coast to coast in calling, emailing, and faxing demands to elected officials for a full two-way arms embargo to stop Canada's complicity in the genocide.

4PM — Mondays 4 Palestine (Danforth and Broadview)
Danforth & Broadview 4 Palestine - Weekly rally on the east end for Palestinians every Monday. Stand up for human rights and say no to genocide.

5PM — Reimagining Heat Information in Toronto (CSI Spadina)
Toronto Climate Observatory - When heat waves hit Toronto, who gets warned? Whose knowledge counts? And why do heat alerts so often fail to reach the people who need them most? Current heat maps and warning systems are typically designed by institutions—not by the communities living through extreme heat. This workshop flips that script.

6PM — People's Consultation on AI - TWC Canada 🤝 TfD (1RG)
TWC Canada and Technologists for Democracy - ​Canada's "national sprint" to put forth a "National AI Strategy" was a missed opportunity to hear from the diversity of voices across the country. The People's Consultation is our opportunity to have our own voices heard — rather than being dominated by industry and corporations.TWC Canada and Technologists for Democracy invite you to join this hybrid consultation event to make your voice heard!

6PM — Reimagining Disability Futures in Nuclear Waste/Land(s) (Virtual)
Disability Justice Network of Ontario - The second workshop in DJNO’s climate future series, on reimagining disability futures in nuclear wastelands.

Tuesday, March 10, 2026 🔗

12PM — What is Feminist Activism Now? Perspectives from Palestine and Sudan, to Turtle Island (KW130, U of T)
University of Toronto Women and Gender Studies - The 2026 Women and Gender Studies Centenary Lecture in recognition of International Women’s Day, featuring local experts and organizers Yusra Khogali, Dr. Nadia Abu-Zahra, and Katsi’tsakwas Ellen Gabriel.

4PM — Technical Collaborators: Canada's Tech-Facilitated Complicity with ICE and Beyond (Virtual)
University of Windsor Faculty of Law - Canadian companies supplying ICE operations isn’t the first time we have been complicit in technology-facilitated acts of state and border violence. This conversation will seek to broaden thinking about the role of Canadian tech in state violence beyond ICE and how the law regulates (or not) these contributions.

5PM — East End Acts Monthly Vigil (Main and Danforth)
East End Acts for Palestine - East End Acts meets monthly on the second Tuesday of the month to remember the thousands of men, women, and children murdered by the zionist state.

5:30PM — Phone Bank for a Progressive Toronto (Virtual)
Progress Toronto - The right and local conservative politicians are working hard to bring back to the status quo of harmful cuts and underfunding vital city services. Help Progress Toronto phone bank and talk to people across Toronto about housing, services, and other issues that matter to them and help them take action.

6PM — The Cost of Growth Screening (Innis College)
Coalition of Toronto sustainability groups - ​An evening of film, conversation, and collective sense-making centred around the documentary The Cost of Growth, which invites us to look beneath today’s crises and ask deeper questions about our economic systems, whose interests they serve, and what alternative futures might be possible.

6PM — Hands Off Our OSAP Townhall (Sidney Smith 2117)
University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Union - Keep the momentum going to take action on Ford’s OSAP cuts at this hybrid town hall with the graduate students’ union! Discuss strategies and tactics to push back.

Down the road

Wednesday, March 11, 2026 🔗

8:30AM — Union Women Rise Up for Gender Justice (Virtual)
7PM — Wayfinding: Art (1RG)

Thursday, March 12, 2026 🔗

11AM — A Day in the Life: Harm Reduction 101 & OD Prevention Training (526 Richmond ST)
6PM — TfD - Monthly Volunteer Planning Meeting (Virtual)
6PM — CivicTechBrampton: Applied AI Workshop (8 Queen St E, Brampton)
6PM — Knock on Doors for a Progressive Toronto (Spadina and Richmond St W)

Friday, March 13, 2026 🔗

7:30PM — Rank + File: Show 1 (Handlebar)

Saturday, March 14, 2026 🔗

3PM — Al Quds Day: Annual Walk for Palestine (361 University Ave)

Monday, March 16, 2026 🔗

12:30PM — Weekly Phone Zap for Palestine (Virtual)
4PM — Mondays 4 Palestine (Danforth and Broadview)

Tuesday, March 17, 2026 🔗

9PM — DSC Orientation (Virtual)

Wednesday, March 18, 2026 🔗

7PM — Resource Movement Info Session (Virtual)

Friday, March 20, 2026 🔗

6PM — Toronto Spring Monthly Meeting (720 Spadina Ave)

Monday, March 23, 2026 🔗

12:30PM — Weekly Phone Zap for Palestine (Virtual)

Wednesday, March 25, 2026 🔗

7PM — Fund Our Schools Town Hall (995 Arrow Road)

Thursday, March 26, 2026 🔗

8PM — P4CC Campaign Launch: $10 a Day Child Care For All (Virtual)

For the full up-to-date event listing, visit the Show Up Toronto website. If you find this newsletter useful, I would love for you to:

• Forward it to a friend
• Tell me if you go to an event
• Send me other organizing events in the city I may have missed

You can reach me by replying directly, or by emailing organize@showuptoronto.ca.