How ACLED Counted a Year of Demonstrations
ACLED counted demonstrations across Canada and the US. Toronto’s separate police budget records show what one city sought to recover.
In its year-end assessment, ACLED reported that demonstrations with a pro-Palestine or anti-Israel element represented 28% of recorded demonstration activity across Canada and the United States combined in 2024. That figure uses recorded events as its denominator.
The combined share cannot be read as the Canadian share. A Canada-only comparison would filter the underlying data by country and year, then divide events in the relevant categories by all recorded Canadian demonstrations. That would measure frequency. Attendance, campus closures and policy outcomes require other records.
Police and transport records by country
Evidence outside the campus case
Policing and dispersal. Toronto Police Service Board requested C$19.5 million in federal funding to offset the costs of Project Resolute through December 31, 2024. The operation’s scope included conflict-related protests and other community and infrastructure protection. Toronto Police Service Board minutes
Figures and sources
Combined ACLED event counts. The remaining share is the complement to 100%.
The combined sample covers the two countries and cannot give a Canadian cost, even if the proportion is accurate. A repeat demonstration raises the event total without necessarily increasing property damage. Compare this period with the Toronto court record to see how an event series and a specific interruption answer different questions.
Canada population and public costs · Public costs and national research