‘Less viable to engage': Why G7 protests have been limited

CTV News

4 hours ago

A crowd gathers to protest the arrival of Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi at the G7 summit, in Calgary, on Monday, June 16, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
Experts say they're not overly shocked by a lack of large protests in Banff or Calgary around the G7 Leaders' Summit.
Sunday saw roughly 500 people demonstrate in blocked-off zones, but both Monday and Tuesday's displays have only included a handful of people.
In fact, Calgary's Municipal Plaza was the only one of three total demonstration zones that had any sort of activity as of Tuesday afternoon.
'It's fairly light on protests,' said Staff Sgt. Kris Clark, RCMP spokesperson.
'I think (Monday) we had about 85 people at the designated demonstration zone (in Banff), and (Tuesday) it's even lighter.'
One Calgary humanities professor chalks some of that up to a massive police presence.
'I think a lot of activists have realized that these aren't the best ways to spend their energy,' Roberta Lexier told CTV News.
'The policing of dissent has become quite intense, and so I think a lot of people have decided to shift their focus elsewhere.'
Calgary police, Mounties, Alberta Sheriffs and police teams from Edmonton, Winnipeg and Vancouver are all on site.
On Sunday, a protester march out of the plaza saw many officers don riot gear.
'Because we've seen these kinds of violent clampdowns on the security regime, it's becoming less viable for people to engage,' Lexier said.
'We've entered this sort of militaristic law enforcement model.'
'We always plan for essentially the worst,' Clark said.
'You time for contingencies because it's unpredictable and you don't really know what the numbers are going to be.'
There's also the question of just how powerful these events really are.
Nations like the United States have seen large-scale protests in recent months that led to no change whatsoever.
Lexier says speaking out is effective in showing the media and the public that your cause is important, but there are no guarantees politicians care.
Feeds from the demonstration zones have been broadcast live for G7 leaders, though most speculate they're too busy with meetings to pay attention.
Protester Raj Singh with Sikhs for Justice hopes that's not the case.
'I pray the world leaders read the news and know what's going on—why we are protesting,' he said.
'We are trying our best.'