Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Italian counterpart, Giorgia Meloni, had to scrap a meeting at an Ontario art gallery after the entrances were blockaded by pro-Palestinian protesters.
The Art Gallery of Ontario was forced into lockdown as an estimated 30 demonstrators swarmed around the building on Saturday night.
“Due to security concerns, the event was cancelled,” a spokesman for Mr Trudeau’s office said.
Chanting protesters have been angered by Mr Trudeau’s government’s support for Israel in the war in Gaza, which erupted after the Hamas attack on October 7 that saw 1,200 people killed and some 250 kidnapped.
“You are complicit in the genocide. Your hands are red. You are complicit in the murder of my family members and my friends,” one of the demonstrators told Mr Trudeau.
Police tried to protect those attending the event, who had to run the gauntlet of the mob surrounding the building.
Canada’s international development minister, Ahmed Hussen, was blocked at the main entrance and then followed by protesters for two blocks as he tried to find another way into the building.