Snow and freezing rain could not stop a group of Canadians from showing their support for the U.S. at a Toronto rally Friday. Hundreds of people turned out at Toronto's Nathan Phillips Square to wave American flags, signs and umbrellas.

"We're not fair-weather friends of the Americans - we're their friends in all weather, in war and in peace, even though some of us may disagree with the war," said Ray Heard, publicist for a group called Friends of America, a day ahead of the rally.

The group called on a "silent majority of Canadians" to show their support for the U.S. at the rally, which featured such speakers as the widow of a Canadian killed in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and Toronto Argonauts head coach Mike (Pinball) Clemons.

Canadian Alliance Leader Stephen Harper, who has been one of the most vocal critics of the federal government's stance on the war and of anti-American sentiments expressed by Liberal officials, was among those who addressed the cheering crowd.

"We are with you in the battle for Baghdad," Harper told a cheering crowd.

"Let us pledge today that in the future, when our American and British friends around the world take on the cause of freedom and democracy, we will never again be isolated," he said.

Toronto's rally followed similar demonstrations held last weekend in Calgary, Vancouver, Ottawa and Winnipeg at which hundreds turned out with American flags and pro-U.S. placards.

Ontario Premier Ernie Eves, who has been an outspoken opponent to the federal government's position, told CFTO News Canada should be "standing by" its neighbour.

"We should be supporting our American neighbours as they fight for dignity and freedom for all people," Eves said as the rally got underway.

Heard says it's time to extend a gesture of friendship towards our neighbour to the south. He says regardless of how they feel about the war in Iraq, Canadians need to show Americans they want to move beyond anti-U.S. incidents and high-profile comments from members of the government such as Liberal MP Carolyn Parrish, who recently said: "Damn Americans, I hate those bastards."

"This rally is to show our friendship for the American people after the insulting language of Carolyn Parrish and the insulting behaviour of certain hockey fans down in Montreal," Heard said, referring to the recent booing of the U.S. national anthem at a hockey game.

Canadian Maureen Basnicki, whose husband died in the Sept. 11 attacks, says supporting the U.S. right now doesn't mean supporting the war.

"This is an opportunity for all Canadians to state that in spite of their feelings about the war, they are pro-American. That's what it's all about today -- we want to show our affection for Americans," Basnicki told CTV's Canada AM Friday.

"There are many organizers in this event that are not pro-war," she added. "In fact, even among the family members of victims of 9/11, we're not all 100 per cent pro-war."

Canada's refusal to back the U.S.-led war in Iraq, combined with those incidents has prompted a growing backlash south of the border, on both the popular and official levels. U.S. Ambassador to Canada Paul Cellucci has voiced criticism on more than one occasion in recent weeks while Richard Perle, who sits on the Pentagon's influential Defense Policy Board, slammed the Canadian government in interviews this week.

On one occasion, an American Ebay seller refused to sell to a Canadian buyers and there have been reports of Canadian cars being vandalized in the U.S. As well, Heard notes Molson beer is being boycotted in several states some U.S. gas stations have denied diesel to a Canadian trucking firm.

With a report from The Canadian Press