Many Canadians who lined up outside select local shops Friday for the latest issue of a French satirical newspaper were disappointed.
There are only 1,500 copies of the latest issue of Charlie Hebdo available in Canada, which is not enough to meet the demand, according to the paper鈥檚 distributor, LMPI.
The vast majority of the copies shipped to Canada were expected to be sent to Quebec retailers, with the rest going to British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
Some of those disappointed said they want to buy a copy to show support for free speech.
No copies in Toronto
LMPI said Friday that a shipment bound for five shops in Toronto will arrive on Monday instead.
More than 20 people had lined up at a Presse Internationale location on Bloor Street near Bathurst Street around 9 a.m., waiting for the shipment.
When it didn鈥檛 arrive, they were told to come back at 1 p.m. They were then informed that the shipment wasn鈥檛 coming until Monday.
It was a similar scene at a Gateway Newstands location at Yonge Street and St. Clair Avenue.
鈥淚t was like the play 鈥榃aiting for Godot,鈥欌�� said one woman. 鈥淕odot never came, Charlie never came.鈥�
Nirmaljit Singh Chadha, a manager of Gateway Newsstand in Toronto, said demand had been 鈥渃razy.鈥�
"Our phone is non-stop all week, people want more than one copy,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e're getting calls from all over Canada, we're getting calls from the U.S. We got a call from Paris, that they can't find a copy there.鈥�
Few copies in Montreal
In Montreal, about 100 people who lined up outside the store Maison de la Presse Internationale were also disappointed.
The store had been expecting 40 copies. When it opened, an employee told customers that only five copies had arrived and that they would be saved for his boss.
A few hours later, the employee found another 20 copies of the issue 鈥� still not enough to meet demand.
Nicole Desormeaux waited from 7 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. to get her hands on what she called 鈥渁 page of history,鈥� before leaving in frustration.
"It cost me $10 for parking. I was 32 among the first 40 people and then they told us they received only five copies,鈥� she said. 鈥淚'm very, very disappointed."
Long waitlist in Ottawa
LMPI said that 30 copies would be made available across three locations in Ottawa.
A representative of Librairie Du Soleil, one of the three shops expecting copies on Friday, said they had more than 560 people ask to reserve a copy.
鈥淭his is a question is freedom of speech,鈥� said David Lauzon, who was waiting for a copy. 鈥淔ighting terrorism is something we鈥檙e all in together.
Controversial cover
The cover shows a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad weeping and holding a sign reading "I Am Charlie" with the words "All Is Forgiven" above him.
Customers lined up again in Paris on Thursday to try to get copies. Even though it had a special increased print run of five million copies 鈥� up from the usual 60,000 鈥� it sold out before dawn for a second straight day.
Some Muslims, who believe their faith forbids depictions of Muhammad, reacted with dismay or anger at the new cover. In Pakistan, lawmakers marched outside parliament on Thursday to protest the publication.
A leader of Yemen's al Qaeda branch officially claimed responsibility for the attacks at Charlie Hebdo, saying in a video the slayings were in "vengeance for the prophet." But U.S. and French intelligence officials lean toward an assessment that the Paris terror attacks were inspired by al Qaeda but not directly supervised by the group.
Charlie Hebdo also made the issue available through its iPhone and Android apps. It is on sale for $3.49 through the Apple App Store and $4.24 through Google Play.
With files from The Canadian Press and a report from CTV Toronto鈥檚 Heather Wright
