Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow was front and centre at her city's Pride flag-raising ceremony on Monday, dancing with performers, delivering a speech, and otherwise advocating for the cause.When 50,000 people gathered to support the Jewish community at the 56th annual Walk for Israel a week earlier, however, she did not even show up..As the crowd of hundreds looked on, Chow helped raise the Pride Progress flag above City Hall in downtown Toronto..Wearing a yellow dress and matching boa, Chow joined Sanjina DaBish Queen's dance routine, the latter telling the former afterwards, "I didn't know you could get down like that!".In her speech, Chow took aim at corporations that pulled their sponsorships of Pride Toronto, calling it "depressing news." She said their decision was "short-sighted" and assured the audience that the city would step up to cover that lost funding to the tune of $350,000. Chow singled out Home Depot, and urged people to go to RONA instead."Shop Canadian," she declared, forgetting to mention that while RONA was founded in Canada, it has been owned by US-based private equity firm Sycamore Partners since 2023..Chow, who has attended countless events hosted by a variety of groups across Toronto during her time as mayor, was encouraged to take part in the Walk for Israel to show solidarity with the Jewish community.Though her presence would have been appreciated at a time when antisemitism is on the rise in the city, she was nowhere to be found..WATCH: Pro-Hamas protestors disrupt Walk for Israel, hate crime investigation after arrest.Nonetheless, the event was a success, bringing together tens of thousands to support not just Israel, but Jews everywhere. The six kilometre route started at Temple Sinai Congregation and headed north along Bathurst St. to the United Jewish Appeal's Sherman Campus. .While Chow has been a no-show at most Jewish events, she has taken time to meet with Muslim community leaders to address Islamophobia, even going so far as donning a hijab.
