McGill University in Montreal said it would make efforts to de-escalate before requesting police assistance to dismantle the camp set up on campus by pro-Palestinian activists.

A university update late yesterday warned that if the situation escalates further "beyond university protocols," it would be its duty to "request police support to ensure the health and safety of everyone on site."

Dozens of tents have been set up in the McGill University campus park in the city center, and activists say they do not intend to take them down until McGill University, as well as Concordia University, withdraw their investments from all companies they claim are "profiting from genocide."

McGill stated that many of the activists, if not the majority, are not members of the school community and that it has seen a video of some individuals using "unambiguous anti-Semitic language and intimidating behavior," but did not provide further details.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators also set up a camp on the Point Grey campus of the University of British Columbia, and the universities of Toronto and Ottawa warned that no camping would be tolerated on campus.

The camps, which come before the final exam period at McGill University on Tuesday, follow a wave of similar protests at universities in the United States related to the war between Israel and Hamas.

Members of the camp also demanded that McGill withdraw its investments from Israeli companies that they say are "complicit in the occupation of Palestine." They also want the school to sever academic ties with Israeli institutions.

Officials from the University of British Columbia indicated that they are monitoring the situation there and reminded protestors to follow university policy and the law while taking part in protests.

British Columbia Premier David Eby said that student leaders and administration must balance the need for free expression on campus with the need to foster safe spaces, especially for Jewish students during a time when they need additional support to feel safe.