This section is Presented This section was produced by the editorial department. The client was not given the opportunity to put restrictions on the content or review it prior to publication. by HAVEN HOME HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING Shouting during standoff leads to pushing, physical altercations; police called to calm situation Feb 01, 2026 • Last updated 2 hours ago •
Left faced off against right as protesters and counter-protesters clash on the front steps of Kingston City Hall on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2026. Photo by Bill Hall /The Kingston Whig-Standard
A Stand United Canada protest in Kingston on Saturday turned physical when counter-protesters confronted demonstrators on the steps of City Hall.
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A small, right-wing, anti-Prime Minister Mark Carney rally of a half dozen protesters, who assembled on Ontario Street’s south side, was outnumbered when several left-wing factions took to the front steps of City Hall with flags, placards, loud music and a bullhorn.
Nearly 40 individuals representing a pro-Palestinian group, LGBTQ rights, Indigenous rights and other left-wing ideologies drowned out the handful of Stand United protesters.
From the steps of City Hall, protester Jennifer Rowe explained why she and her group were out to squash the right-wing rally across the street.
Jennifer Rowe chants on the steps of Kingston City Hall in counter-protest to the Stand United rally on the other side of the street on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2026. Photo by Bill Hall /The Kingston Whig-Standard
“We are very upset about the rise of ultranationalism everywhere. It’s not just Canada and the U.S.,” Rowe said. “There’s a rise in Germany, in Iran, everywhere the old world is dying and fighting so hard to stay alive.”
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Rowe claimed that “the old boys” don’t like the equalization of race and gender as the diversity, equity, and inclusion ideology grows.
“When it’s a more level playing field for everyone, that threatens certain people — very male and white people,” she said. “These are people who were always a step above until now, and they’re afraid.”
Rowe said she understands that the right side is upset with change, but they’re blaming the wrong people.
“We get that you’re upset. The rent is high. Groceries are too expensive. The cost of utilities is rising, but immigrants are not the problem. “The LGBTQ community is not the problem,” Rowe said. “It’s a system that’s been rigged to favour the rich and oppress the poor for the last 400 to 500 hundred years.”
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Rowe added that it doesn’t matter what colour you are or where you’re born; everyone is suffering under a government backed by corporations “to divide us all and fool us into blaming one another.”
Sean Izzard of the Stand United Canada rally is interviewed by Kingston Police after a fight broke out on the steps of Kingston City Hall on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2026. Photo by Bill Hall /The Kingston Whig-Standard
While Rowe was being interviewed, Sean Izzard, from the anti-liberal group across the street, came over to shout racial slurs and obscenities a third time in the face of the liberal-minded protesters.
“Go back to where you came from!” he yelled, following it with obscenities.
The left pushed back with shouts and gestures of their own.
After a minute of in-the-face verbal assaults by Izzard, he retreated to the east side of the street. That’s when the left crossed the street to confront the Stand United Canada group.
At least 10 LGBTQ and Palestine sympathizers barked back — bullhorn and placards in hand.
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Nose-to-nose shouting and flailing arms obscured the flags and placards until a raised hand by the left grazed an arm on the right, which led to pushing, and soon a punch, then another and another.
Izzard punched an unidentified individual in the side of their head, causing them to lose their safety goggles. Their baby finger was injured trying to block the punches.
Izzard was not injured but for a minor scratch on the neck, evident by a red mark.
Once the 10-second skirmish was over, both sides regrouped as a number of participants and onlookers called the police. Twenty minutes later, two Kingston Police officers showed up, but not before another scuffle took place.
Sean Izzard of Stand United shouts at liberal counter-protesters on the front steps of Kingston City Hall on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2026. Photo by Bill Hall /The Kingston Whig-Standard
The police interviewed several individuals and asked for any available video, but didn’t seem overly concerned as their presence had de-escalated the tension and everyone involved had calmed down and returned to their respective sides of the street. The protest continued in a more civil manner.
After Izzard’s interview with the police, the attending officers agreed they would stay to ensure the remainder of the protest would be peaceful.
Izzard, a war veteran with several tours of duty, stated that he was willing to maintain peace. However, he said when the “lefties” poked him in the chest and said, “They were glad his brothers-in-arms had died in the Middle East,” he lost control. That’s when he took his first swing.
“I lost 20 of my brothers over there,” he said. “They don’t have a right to say that.”
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