Updated: Sun Jun. 14 2009 8:07:10 PM

ctvtoronto.ca

The political tension in Iran brought nearly 1,000 people to the streets of Toronto on Sunday as Iranian-Canadians gathered to protest a rumoured rigged election in their homeland.

The protest took place at Mel Lastman Square in North York, a Toronto suburb that boasts a large Iranian population.

The demonstration began at 2 p.m. and remained mostly peaceful, unlike the violent protests that have taken place in Tehran over the last two days.

Protesters in Tehran have broken windows and set fires to decry what they say is election fraud following the re-election of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Anti-riot police squads tried to beat back the demonstrators with clubs, while the government attempted to cut off reformists from their primary modes of communication and organization by blocking text messaging and some social networking websites.

Ahmadinejad dismissed the protests as "not important" and declared Friday's vote that sealed his landslide victory to be "real and free."

In Toronto, a group supporting the former monarchy also showed up at the protest to have their voices heard. There was some tension between the two groups but the crowd was kept under control by police.

Organizers of the protest said they are holding a rally here to show solidarity with Iranians and to "voice our strong condemnation of massive vote-rigging that has occurred in the presidential election," says a news release.

"We, as a group of Iranian expatriates, have gathered to voice our support for the freedom-loving and dignified people of Iran, and to act as one bridge between the Iranian people's protests and the international community," the release continues to say.