Ottawa May Day March 2025

As a longstanding international holiday, May Day is a day to celebrate the collective power of all who labour – paid and unpaid, formal and informal, in care work and field work – all of the activities that sustain us and our community. It’s a day to recommit to forging solidarity across borders against exploitation and dispossession. Above all, May Day honours the power of ordinary people, working together, to shape the conditions of our lives.

Things are getting harder. People are struggling to get by, the rich are getting richer, the ecological crisis is intensifying, Palestine is enduring unspeakable horrors, authoritarianism is growing more ascendant globally, and ruling officials are offering us little more than flag-waving and immigrant-blaming. In these circumstances, it’s all the more crucial to remember that collective struggle from below is a source of joy and the way that we win.

So, this year, Punch Up Collective is resuscitating the tradition of the Ottawa May Day march and we invite you to join us!

March Details

• Date: Thursday, May 1st, 2025
• Start location: Confederation Park (Elgin St @ Laurier Ave)
• Time: 5:00pm – 7:00pm

March Route and Points of Interest

The specific march route is currently being determined.

Contingents

Participating organizations and individuals are encouraged to organize contingents for the march. Your banners, flags, signs, and matching onesies are welcome! A bike bloc? A stroller squad? A marching band? All are welcome!

Permits, Police, and Safety

Punch Up Collective’s goal is to organize and host a march that is as welcoming and accessible as possible to everyone, including kids, families, people pushing strollers, people with mobility challenges, animal companions, and anyone else committed to building a better, more equitable world for all. We’ll move at a pace workable for everyone there, making sure that the front of the march isn’t racing ahead and leaving the back trailing.

The march will have marshals, who will be there to assist march participants and help ensure our collective safety throughout the event.

However, the march will not be coordinated with police or security agencies in advance, and will not have a permit. There is no legal requirement to secure a permit to hold a protest or march. In our view, doing so would only further entrench the harmful idea that police are allowed to determine when, where, and how we organize and come together.