St. John's Women's March mostly moves online after blizzard shuts the city down

It might be the only one of the 673 planned sister marches to the Women’s March that was shut out of its own event by snow. The march planned for downtown St. John’s on Saturday went virtual when a blizzard largely shut down the capital of Newfoundland and Labrador — but some supporters found a way to come out in solidarity anyway.

Rocket Bakery owner Kelly Mansell opened up her downtown cafe and made it known that those who’d planned to go to city hall for the march could instead come by for caffeine and solidarity. A small crowd gathered outside the cafe and then moved inside to watch the Facebook Live videos of the march’s planned speakers giving their remarks to an online audience of a couple thousand people.

The St. John’s march, gone virtual, was one of many Women’s March events happening Saturday across Canada, the United States, and the rest of the world in solidarity with the main march in Washington, D.C. The local march was planned both as a peaceful show of solidarity to American counterparts and as a sign that Trump-style politics are not welcome in Canada, according to the event’s Facebook page.

“We may be the only city in the world that actually got snowed out of our own march,” co-organizer Elisabeth de Mariafi said in a Facebook Live video.

“Solidarity among women across the world is one of the ways we can bring progressive caring and humanist progress to our politics and society,” said Aduei Riak, a South Sudanese American woman living in St. John’s, in a Facebook Live video. “We must avoid falling for angry populist backward forces that have the potential of bringing regression and not progress.”

As well, a couple dozen — from children to grandparents — showed up at Rocket downtown to watch and be with other like-minded people, despite the weather.

Some of those who came out didn’t see the American election as completely removed from Canada and were concerned that Donald Trump’s win might make this country less safe for some people.

“In a little bubble world you kind of think that the States are the States and the impact is separate. And it’s not. All sorts of things are starting to happen across Canada that are extremely racist, extremely violent and you worry,” Michelle, who declined to give her last name for her fear her employer would disapprove, told Yahoo Canada News. “And you don’t really know what to do other than show up for something like this.”

Others came less as a specific protest against Trump or the American government as they did for a show of solidarity for other women marching today.

“This is not an anti-Trump thing for me,” Elizabeth-Anne Malischewski said. Instead it’s pro-solidarity and pro-resistance, she said, and about showing positivity and support for those who feel they need it right now.

The virtual march also gave the opportunity for others across the province to participate and people in places including Avondale, Stephenville, Trinity, and several others posted on the Facebook group that they were glad to have a way to “march” along with the official sister march in St. John’s.

But while the St. John’s march may be the only one borne out of inclement weather, the Women’s March includes a virtual disability march for those who are unable to go to a march because of physical limitations or illness.