Thousands gathered today at Yonge-Dundas Square in Toronto to protest Stephen Harper’s prorogation of parliament.

The Toronto rally was one of more than 50 scheduled to happen across the country. The rallies were organized by a Facebook group started by a student in Alberta which quickly grew to more than 200,000 members. Five thousand people congested the streets at today’s rally in Toronto, calling for Harper to get back to work.

Jonathan Allan, one of the organizers for the event, joined the Facebook group Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament and became a volunteer for the cause. He said he was not surprised by the overwhelming number of people who turned out in support.

“I’m not surprised at all,” Allan said. “This is such an important issue, the fact that the government would shut down parliament in the face of opposition is an outrage.”

The rage was matched by jeers and laughs as comedian Martha Chaves poked fun at Harper’s “dictator” tendencies. Chaves, an immigrant from Nicaragua, said that after leaving her own oppressive country she is irate at Harper’s Dec. 30 decision to prorogue parliament.

“I don’t want my new country to become like my old country or I’ll have nowhere else to go,” she said.

Chaves wasn’t the only immigrant to show concern. Others, such as Linda Tyndall, came to speak out against the suspension of parliament. Tyndall, a Canadian citizen for just over four years, said she was angered by Harper’s decision.

“I’m a new Canadian and I’m horrified that he can do this with our democracy,” Tyndall said. “And to find that the Prime Minister can do this I feel like I’m in a third-world country.”

But she also pointed out a positive to the day in the number of people, especially youth, that became engaged and showed support for the cause.

“I can’t tell you what it does to see the young people, because I think it’s important they participate and really come out to this.”

For many this was the first time they had ever attended a political rally. Adam Sloboda said he’s never bothered with rallies or protests before, but this one was different.

“It’s like when you think about being pushed by a bully,” he said. “You get pushed so many times you’re eventually going to push back and so it’s gotten to a point where I just want to stand up for what I believe in. I’m happy with the turnout and it’s probably the first sign that Facebook events can actually produce some results.”

The rally commenced with performances by the Raging Grannies, the Wolf Woman Singers and Freedom Records and ended with a march south on Yonge Street that looped back to where they began.