British Columbians took to the streets Saturday in support of anti-government protests in Egypt, where widespread unrest has shaken Hosni Mubarak's embattled regime and sparked demonstrations throughout the Middle East.

Participants defied the rain in Vancouver -- one of several cities across Canada and the U.S. hosting demonstrations over the weekend -- to take part in enthusiastic call-and-response and hear a cast of speakers on the steps of Library Square downtown.

Protesters held up placards reading "Mubarak Step Down" and "Long live the people of Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Jordan, Algeria -- struggle until victory," a sign of pan-Arab solidarity.

The crowd huddled under umbrellas and chanted in English and Arabic, "Egypt wants Mubarak Out, Egypt wants democracy."

Mohamed Hefeeda, an Egyptian-Canadian computer science professor at Simon Fraser University, first heard about the rally through Facebook invitations and mailing lists

"We want our freedom back," he said. "We have been under this regime for 30 years -- very corrupt, very biased, an underdeveloped country, a huge gap between poor and rich -- it's miserable."

"The whole country is not stable. I hope that [Mubarak] can step down immediately and save the blood," he said.

Large Egyptian flags wove through a crowd of young families, students and professionals largely from the Egyptian-Canadian community in Metro Vancouver. One banner incorporated an image of Malcolm X, a symbol of resistance showcasing the cynicism many from the volatile region feel toward U.S. influence there.

The protest, organized with the support of the Egyptian Canadian Cultural Society and the B.C.-based StopWar Coalition, remained peaceful throughout its two-hour duration. Similarly subdued demonstrations in Toronto, Montreal, Chicago and San Francisco stood in stark contrast to the violence in Egypt -- where chaos over the past five days has killed at least 74 -- as well as several Middle Eastern capitals.

President Mubarak appointed a new vice-president and prime minister in response to anti-government protests in cities across the country. Military troops entered Cairo's streets Friday to stifle what some commentators are calling the country’s worst uprising in decades.

The turmoil comes less than two weeks after unrest in Tunisia led to dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali’s deposition and an interim government claiming to transition toward democracy.

Crushing poverty, unemployment and corruption prompted protests there, as in Egypt and capital cities in Jordan, Yemen and Qatar.

Rabah Alanazi, a Saudi man studying English in Metro Vancouver, spotted the protest while walking by on Robson Street.

"I think government for Egypt is very bad," he said, referring to the Mubarak regime’' use of force against protesters. "I feel united with these people."

Christopher Reynolds is a Vancouver-based journalist.