TORONTO — A rally in front of the chain-link fence that now securely encloses the contaminated lakefront encampment known as Tent City drew about 100 people Saturday as protesters called on all levels of government to provide affordable housing.

"There is no doubt that without a national housing program, there will be more tent cities," said organizer Beric German of the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee.

About 125 people were evicted from the site Tuesday by security officers and and police. Home Depot, the national home-improvement chain that owns the lot, said that safety concerns led to its decision to remove the squatters.

At the short and peaceful protest Saturday, many of the demonstrators carried signs that read No Home Depot or Homeless Depot.

While the relief commitee is calling for further protests directed at the company, German said it is not yet planning a boycott.

But while activists were seeking answers to the housing crisis that drove people to seek shelter in a shanty town at the heart of Canada's largest city, the evicted squatters had more immediate concerns.

Many attending the demonstration edged close to the wire fence and pleaded with stone-faced security guards to allow them access to personal belongings and a few scattered house pets that have remained behind the guarded barricade since Tuesday.

"There are still some cats missing," said Julie, 20, who lived in Tent City for over a year. She said she was able take her two dogs with her when she left.

"They could have at least given us some warning," she said of the eviction.

Security guards hired by the company escorted the former residents back to the site the next day to retrieve some belongings. However, squatters complain they weren't allowed to get vehicles onto the site and didn't have enough time to arrange for a proper move or interim storage.

Julie's belongings are stowed under a makeshift tent nearby, but heavy rain Friday likely destroyed many of her things, she said.

Former Toronto mayor Barbara Hall, dressed in an oversize T-shirt, shorts and sneakers, said she came across the protest during a training run.

She urged officials to "ensure that all of the men and women who were living in Tent City get their possessions back and get housing as soon as possible."

"We shouldn't have a Tent City in this wealthy country, Canada," she said.

She called for the provincial and federal governments to step in and fund housing, adding she supported Toronto's immediate efforts to find solutions for Tent City residents through a rent subsidy.

Tent City gained international attention in June, when the New York Times cited it as a symbol of Toronto's decline, saying homelessness had reached catastrophic levels and had led to the deterioration of the city.

The onetime industrial property is contaminated with heavy metals, and rats and human waste have become a problem, said officials.

Home Depot had planned to put a store on the site but was turned down by the Ontario Municipal Board about four years ago. The company was not available for comment Saturday.

Earlier this week, riot-squad officers in Vancouver evicted squatters who had been occupying the abandoned Woodward's department store.