Canada: Rally and Parade in Toronto Celebrate Falun Dafa Day (Part One)

(Minghui.org) Falun Dafa practitioners in Toronto, Canada, held a celebration at Nathan Phillips Square in front of City Hall on the morning of Sunday, May 11, 2025. The event included group exercises, dance, music, singing, and poetry reading, and marked the 33rd anniversary of Falun Dafa’s introduction. Practitioners also respectfully celebrated the birthday of Falun Dafa’s founder, Master Li Hongzhi. Government officials and several community leaders attended the event and gave speeches.

Joel Chipkar, the host of the event, said, “As we celebrate the 33rd anniversary of Falun Dafa’s introduction, let us reflect on this journey filled with faith and compassion that has brought us to today. Let us pay tribute to the countless practitioners who have walked this path with courage and dignity. Let us look forward to a future where the light of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance shines even brighter in people’s hearts. Most importantly, let us thank Master Li Hongzhi for giving us the precious gift of Falun Dafa.”

Practitioners in Toronto respectfully wish Master Li a happy birthday.

Group exercise

Practitioners celebrated the 33rd anniversary of Falun Dafa being introduced to the world through dance, music, singing, and poetry reading. They also wish Master Li a happy birthday.

Government officials and several community leaders attended the celebration and gave speeches. 1. Former Canadian Senator Consiglio Di Nino, fifth from the left. 2. Former Canadian Member of Parliament Wladslaw Lizon, sixth from the left. 3. Dean Baxendale, CEO of the international publishing company Optimum Publishing International, third from the left. 4. Sheng Xue, Vice President of the Federation for a Democratic China, fourth from the right. 5. Elaine Feng, former President of the Hong Kong-Canada Association, fourth from the left. 6. Yu Houqiang, Chairman of the Democratic Party of China in Canada, third from the right.

Former Canadian Senator Di Nino: Falun Gong Benefits the Whole World

Former Canadian Senator Consiglio Di Nino, a long-time supporter of Falun Dafa (Falun Gong), said, “I’m very happy to be here again, especially on such a beautiful day. It’s wonderful to spend this time with you. I hope we can continue to do what we can to make life better for ourselves and for others.”

He added that the most important thing is, “I support and respect what you are doing because the world truly needs Falun Gong. It brings benefits to the whole world. I’m honored to be here, and as long as I can, I will continue to support you. I send you my very best wishes. Happy Falun Dafa Day!”

Former Member of Parliament: Celebrating Your Great Contribution to This Country

Wladslaw Lizon, former Canadian Member of Parliament, is also a long-time supporter of Falun Dafa.

He said, “I am very happy and honored to join you in today’s celebration. First of all, today is a special day. We are celebrating the 33rd anniversary of Falun Dafa being introduced to the world. It is a meaningful moment here in Canada, as we also celebrate the great contribution you have made to this country. So, thank you all for your efforts every day.

“It is wonderful that we can celebrate in the downtown area. Your friends are celebrating in about 150 countries around the world. We are happy to join them in this celebration,” he said.

“I am from Poland and grew up under a communist system. So I understand very well what it means for Falun Gong practitioners in China to be persecuted. They are being mistreated by their own government. We must not forget them. No matter how many years it takes, we will continue to speak out and call for the Chinese Communist Party to stop the persecution of Falun Gong.”

He ended by saying, “But today, let us celebrate. Happy Falun Dafa Day! I wish you all the best. Thank you very much!”

CEO of International Publishing Company: Honored to Celebrate Dafa Day

Dean Baxendale, CEO of the international publishing company Optimum Publishing International, said in his speech, “This is an important day for freedom. It is a meaningful day for democracy, for religious freedom, and for the right to live your life as you choose. Falun Gong has spread all over the world. As we know, this practice has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) since the late 1990s. Earlier this week, I was in Washington, on Capitol Hill, attending the press conference for Bill 1503, which is meant to protect the rights of Falun Dafa and stop forced organ harvesting.

“It is important to recognize that this is a global issue. We need lawmakers in Canada to stand up and push back against the oppression and transnational repression carried out by the CCP around the world. Only then can you and everyone here be truly free to celebrate the values, ethics, and spirit of this movement,” he said.

He also said it was an honor to celebrate Dafa Day with Falun Gong practitioners on Mother’s Day. “I want to wish all the mothers here today a happy Mother’s Day. Before I came, I called my 87-year-old mother to say hello. I told her I was going to give a speech at Nathan Phillips Square in downtown. She asked, ‘Why are you doing that?’ I said, ‘Because I want to be with my friends, with people who care about me, and with everyone here today.’”

Upholding Human Dignity Through Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance

Sheng Xue, Vice President of the Federation for a Democratic China, addressed the event.

Sheng Xue, Vice President of the Federation for a Democratic China, said, “Today we are here together to celebrate World Falun Dafa Day. I stand here with deep respect and gratitude. This feeling is truly sincere.”

She shared that she first came into contact with Falun Gong practitioners in May 1999 and became both an observer and a participant in the movement to speak the truth and oppose the persecution.

“To commemorate this important day together is also a way to once again tell the world that Falun Gong practitioners have held on to human conscience,” she said. “In the darkest times, they never gave up. They held onto the light with great strength.

“Under the Chinese Communist regime’s suppression, Falun Gong did not disappear. Instead, it began one of the most resilient, morally powerful, and peaceful movements in human history: to tell the truth, to resist persecution, and to fight for freedom of belief.”

She added, “Falun Gong practitioners have played a key role in resisting oppression on spiritual, cultural, and informational levels. By holding onto the core values of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, they have stood against violence, hatred, and lies. They have awakened the conscience of a numb world. They have helped people around the globe recognize the danger of authoritarianism. And they have strengthened the world’s overall ability to resist and recover.”

She concluded, “On this day of celebrating Falun Dafa, I pay tribute to all of you. I am truly grateful that such a group exists in our time. You are a vital force in protecting world civilization. Every one of you here today, you are the heroes of this era.”

Pro-Democracy Leader: Experiencing Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance in a Free Environment

Yu Houqiang, Chair of the Democratic Party of China in Canada, spoke at the gathering. He said he saw Falun Dafa practitioners doing the exercises, and everyone looked happy and joyful. He said that in a free environment people can truly experience Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.

Yu said that he’s from China and feels fortunate to have found freedom in Canada. He said he hopes to work with Falun Dafa practitioners so that freedom like this can also exist in China.

“I believe that one day, we will practice the exercises together by West Lake, at Tiananmen Square, and by the Yangtze River,” he said. “We will enjoy freedom together. Let us work hard together. I believe we will see that day.”

The grand parade began at 2:30 in the afternoon.

(To be continued)