Calgary police designate three protest zones for next month's G7, expect big influx of activists
Also on Wednesday, RCMP Chief Supt. and ISSG Security Director Dave Hall acknowledged some Banff residents weren't happy with initial plans for a designated protest zone in the town's Central Park.
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He said another one has been found elsewhere in Banff and will be revealed on Thursday.
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'Police have learned their lessons from previous events, finding people have a right to be seen and heard and (ensuring) it's done legally,' said Hall.
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He said protesters won't be tolerated on any roads or highways leading to the Kananaskis venue.
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Security personnel with earpieces could be seen patrolling the grounds of host venue Rimrock Hotel, a few uniformed were in its hallways and an RCMP sniffer dog has been inspecting journalists' gear prior to press conferences.
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But law enforcement officials say they expect the contentious presence of U.S. President Donald Trump at the summit, the war in Ukraine and the possibility of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's presence, and the ongoing Israeli attacks and blockade on Gaza will attract demonstrations for the Kananaskis event.
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A large chunk in the heart of Kananaskis Country will be closed to the unaccredited public from June 10-18, with roadblocks to the north of the Kananaskis Village venue at Mt. Lorette Ponds and one to the south at the Galatea Creek trail head parking lot. The mountain terrain to the east and west of the summit site will also be restricted.
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An estimated 5,000 Canadian soldiers and up to 1,500 RCMP personnel will guard the closed access area, where even the movements of grizzly bears will be monitored.
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The Royal Canadian Air Force has begun conducting preparatory security flights over the Kananaskis region, with low-level sorties flown by CF-18 Hornet fighters and, later in the month, CH-147F Chinook and CH-146 Griffon helicopters.
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The G8 summit that was also held in Kananaskis in 2002 attracted a wide variety of protesters who gathered mostly in Calgary, but the event proceeded without any major violent incidents.
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'They were seen and heard but it was done in a way that was lawful,' said the CPS's Brar.
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Toronto Sun
29 minutes ago
- Toronto Sun
LILLEY: Ford's new harsh tone on Trump a really dumb idea
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Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Ford has gone from criticizing Trump's policies to making things personal with the U.S. President, and that's something that won't go over well in Washington. Since the start of this debacle at the end of November 2024, Ford has walked a fine line in speaking about Trump's policies. He's been the most outspoken Canadian leader on the issue; he's gone hard against Trump's tariffs and talked about the need for working together to grow both economies. Now, he's taking personal pot shots at the President. 'Do you trust President Trump? I don't,' Ford said Wednesday. 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Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
B.C.'s 2024 deficit under forecast at $7.3B but taxpayer-supported debt nears $100B
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Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Israel losing Canadian hearts and minds as poll shows growing outrage over Gaza
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'The perception in Canada that genocide is taking place has increased significantly from 41 per cent in February 2024 to 52 per cent now,' Angus Reid reports in the polling it released Thursday morning. At least two-thirds of those who say they vote for the Liberals, the NDP or the Bloc Québécois told Angus Reid they believe a genocide is taking place in Gaza, while 51 per cent of Conservative supporters disagreed with that statement. Some 64 per cent of Canadians told the pollster that what's happening in Gaza 'is a moral outrage,' a number that rises to 70 per cent among those aged 55 or older. Another 18 per cent of respondents say the humanitarian situation in Gaza is being 'overblown' in media reports, while just as many say they aren't sure. Angus Reid reports 61 per cent of Canadians now say they believe Israel 'is intentionally obstructing the distribution of aid and food to civilians in Gaza,' while 46 per cent say 'Hamas is stealing food and aid that should be going to civilians.' Hamas killed 1,200 people in its Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel. Israel's offensive in Gaza has killed 60,000 people, according to the Hamas-controlled health ministry. Israel says its aim is to rout Hamas and force it to return the hostages it took in the Oct. 7 attack. Many family members of the hostages have argued that the Israeli government's pursuit of the war is delaying their loved ones' release. Israel has insisted for weeks that Hamas is stealing food aid in large quantities, while international organizations and the United Nations have said there is no proof of this happening on a large scale. Israel used its claim about Hamas diverting aid to justify cutting off all food aid in the enclave for nearly three months. Israel has since set up a series of aid distribution sites in Gaza where Israeli troops and American contractors have shot dead hundreds of people seeking food. While Israel insists there is no starvation in Gaza, most other countries, prominent aid groups, doctors working on the ground and U.S. President Donald Trump have said otherwise. Of those polled by Angus Reid most recently, 74 per cent said they support Israel's right to exist and 63 per cent said peace is not possible in Israel while Hamas is still operating in Gaza. 'Canadians aren't that far from where they've traditionally been,' said Chapnick, who has researched the evolution of Canada's foreign policy through the decades. 'What they're saying is that Hamas has to be dealt with. They're not particularly happy with the way the Israeli government has dealt with Hamas. So Canadians seem to be more disappointed with the process than with the idea.' Chapnick said Israel's reputation in Canada going forward will likely depend on who succeeds Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. His government relies on the support of right-wing coalition members who have made numerous provocative statements and have threatened to topple the government if Netanyahu ends the war. Also, 61 per cent of respondents to the recent Angus Reid poll say they support Prime Minister Mark Carney's commitment to recognizing a Palestinian state — and 62 per cent said Canada should not back down from that position under pressure from the Trump administration. Another 54 per cent of those polled said Ottawa should do more to ensure it's not allowing exports of lethal arms to Israel. Chapnick said these numbers closely mirror Carney's policy choices. 'The prime minister and the public are on almost exactly the same page, and it's chicken-and-egg to know which actually came first,' he said, noting that support for Canada staying out of the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 surged after then-prime minister Jean Chrétien opted against joining the military mission. Another poll reports Canadians' stated confidence in the prospects for peace in the Middle East has returned to historical levels following the October 2023 attacks, with most Canadians now expressing pessimism. That poll of 1,579 Canadians, conducted by Leger Marketing for the Association for Canadian Studies between June 20 and 22, suggests 38 per cent of Canadians feel 'lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians can be reached in the future,' while 62 per cent disagree. The Leger numbers from late June do show a shift since January 2024, when 29 per cent of Canadians said they felt peace was possible and 60 per cent disagreed. Polling conducted in October 2023, when the Hamas attack was very fresh in Canadians' minds, found that just 19 per cent thought peace was possible and 51 per cent disagreed. Younger Canadians are more optimistic. The late June poll suggests that 53 per cent of Canadians aged 18 to 24 believe peace is possible. Leger cautions that the numbers were more ambivalent just two weeks prior, when the polling firm surveyed 1,511 Canadians between June 6 and 8 and gave respondents the option of saying they weren't sure or didn't want to answer. In that poll, only 28 per cent of Canadians reported being optimistic about peace, while 31 per cent said they did not want to answer or were not sure. Among those aged 18 to 24, 32 per cent chose not to answer the question and 40 per cent said that peace was possible. The polling industry's professional body, the Canadian Research Insights Council, says online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error because they do not randomly sample the population. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 7, 2025.
