US supporters raised dozens of British, Canadian and US flags in front of Toronto City Hall, under freezing rain, to try to counter recent criticism of the United States from the governing Liberal Party.

Many carried signs reading: "The US is close to us," "We are the silent majority," "Support America, evil prevails".

"I support the United States in freeing Iraq and I support the United States in their military intervention," said 33-year-old Andrew Sefton, holding a sign reading "Americans are not slaves to history. Americans make history."

Canada has officially stayed out of the US-led war because military action against Iraq was not approved by the United Nations.

Still, it has three ships, a handful of planes and at least 1,000 troops -- including some integrated in coalition forces -- in the Gulf region as part of its contribution to the war against terror.

US Ambassador to Canada Paul Cellucci last week rebuked Ottawa for not fully supporting its neighbor and biggest trading partner, saying it was not doing enough to squash anti-US remarks from within Prime Minister Jean Chretien's Liberal Party.

Recently, a Chretien cabinet member said US President George W. Bush had not acted as a "statesman," while another Liberal member of parliament called Americans "bastards."

Stephen Harper, leader of the main opposition party in parliament and supporter of the US-led war, told the cheering crowd: "Thank you for saying to our friends in the United States: You are our friends, our ally and our best friend in the whole wide world."

Despite the large crowd -- estimated by Toronto to police to be a few thousand and organizers to be several thousand -- a few dozen vocal anti-war protesters shouted "Shame, shame USA."

"It's one thing to say your friends of America. It's a very sanitized version," said anti-war protester Kelly Thomas, 28.

"We want to show the darker side, which is when you say you stand by your friend you're also saying you stand by the mass murder of innocent people of Iraq."

Another anti-war protest is scheduled for Saturday here. More pro-US rallies around the country are also scheduled.

SPACE.WIRE