A series of political rallies were held in cities across Canada on Saturday, some in support and others in protest of the opposition coalition that threatened to topple the Conservative government earlier this week.
In some cases, both pro- and anti-coalition rallies took place in the same city.
In Toronto, Canada's federal Liberal and NDP leaders addressed several thousand supporters in Toronto on Saturday afternoon.
Liberal Leader Stephane Dion told a pro-coalition crowd at Toronto's Nathan Phillips Square that Canada urgently needs a plan to help the country's economy.
"We want to help our country to fight the economic crisis that is coming, and for that we need to pull together," he said Saturday afternoon.
He also said Prime Minister Stephen Harper had "wasted time on partisan games and locked the doors of Parliament."
NDP Leader Jack Layton followed Dion and told the crowd that the prime minister had put "a padlock on Parliament Hill" and was "desperately clinging to power."
"By closing down Parliament, he has silenced your voice," Layton said. "He has turned his back on the economy and on the people who are being thrown out of work."
Layton criticized Harper for delivering "an ideological plan" in the government's fiscal update, when Canadians needed the prime minister to look after their best interests.
About two kilometers north of the pro-coalition rally featuring Layton and Dion, a crowd of more than 500 held an anti-coalition rally at the provincial legislature buildings in Queen's Park.
In Ottawa, an anti-coalition rally saw an estimated 3,000 people gather on Parliament Hill in the bitter cold, in order to protest the Liberal-NDP coalition that is backed up by the Bloc Quebecois.
CTV's John Hua said crowd members had told him "the people here are for Stephen Harper, but for the most part they are here for democracy."
"They have come because they have chosen a government, they have chosen the specific people to lead this country, and that it's...not up to backroom deals for people to come together and pull that majority away from Stephen Harper," he told CTV's Newsnet in a phone interview from Ottawa.
Another rally in Calgary saw about 2,000 people gather in support of the existing Conservative government, and just over 200 people showed up to a similar rally in Halifax.
Another 200 people showed up at anti-coalition rally held in front of the New Brunswick legislature in Fredericton.
In Halifax, protesters held placards urging federal politicians to respect their votes, using slogans like "My Vote Counts," "No Secret Deals" and "Respect Our Votes" to convey their message.
Conservative MP Gerry Keddy, who was present at the Halifax rally, called on the coalition to give "its head a shake."
In Montreal, just under 1,000 people showed up to a pro-coalition rally that was organized by three major Quebec unions.
That rally was attended by Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe, as well as NDP and Liberal party representatives.
Duceppe told the crowd that Harper is "trying to make Canada a banana republic" by proroguing Parliament.
Also in Montreal, a crowd of about 30 people held a demonstration outside Dion's Montreal offices, in support of the Conservative government.
All of the protests began at noon ET on Saturday, including about 20 organized by Canadians for Democracy, which opposes the proposed Liberal-NDP-Bloc Quebecois coalition.
On its website, rallyforcanada.ca, the group accuses the NDP and Liberals of getting into bed with separatists and warns that the threat of a coalition taking power will resume once Parliament returns on Jan. 26.
"Let's rally to show the proposed coalition that this isn't a good option," reads a message on the website.
The Canadian Labour Congress, which supports the coalition, held rallies in Toronto's Nathan Phillips Square, as well as in Montreal and Sudbury, Ont.
A radio ad that also appears on the CLC's website encourages supporters to attend Saturday's rallies by slamming Harper's inability to work with the opposition parties to devise solutions for a sluggish economy.
"During the election, Stephen Harper told us he would make a minority Parliament work and put our economy first. He has failed."
The rallies come at the end of a whirlwind week in Ottawa, as the three opposition parties threatened to overthrow Harper's Conservative minority and take power after a confidence vote that had been scheduled for Monday.
The move was largely a response to last week's economic update, delivered by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, which withdrew public funding for the federal parties and failed to include details of an economic stimulus package.
Harper responded by asking Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean to prorogue Parliament. That gives him until Jan. 26 to prepare a budget that will contain a plan for stimulating the economy. Jean agreed and Harper will now present a budget on Jan. 27.
He has said he would like input from the opposition parties as he prepares his economic plan.
Saturday's rallies follow a series of pro-coalition protests Thursday, including one on Parliament Hill that drew about 2,000 supporters.
With files from The Canadian Press
