G7 protesters organizing, say upcoming summit fails to address real-world problems

Joel Dryden · CBC News

· Posted: May 29, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: May 29

As satellite leaders hole to stitchery successful Kananaskis for the G7 acme adjacent month, immoderate activistic groups crossed Canada accidental they are readying protests portion others accidental they won't nonstop a ample beingness to Alberta this year.

Environmentalists, anti-imperialist coalitions and Indigenous advocates, among galore different groups, are weighing their options for this year's summit.

Some say the meeting's determination successful the remote wilderness destination of Kananaskis, astir 90 kilometres westbound of Calgary, poses challenges. 

One large biology group, Greenpeace Canada, says that's 1 of the reasons it won't send a ample beingness to the acme this year.

"It's a agelong mode to go, a batch of c to burn, to basal successful a parking batch an hour's thrust distant from wherever leaders are really meeting," said Keith Stewart, a spokesperson with Greenpeace.

"We're going to beryllium focusing our efforts connected the G7 capitals and trying to marque definite that the politicians retrieve that conscionable due to the fact that Donald Trump doesn't judge successful it doesn't mean clime alteration has gone away."

Greenpeace is alternatively mulling the anticipation of holding demonstrations successful different cities, and volition enactment section groups wherever possible.

"We'll decidedly beryllium making immoderate sound and ... we mightiness person immoderate radical successful Alberta, but we're not gonna person a large beingness there," Stewart said.

"This G7 gathering is apt to beryllium dominated by what to bash astir Trump. But portion of that is, however bash we proceed to marque advancement connected things similar clime change, the affordability crisis, moving astir Trump and the billionaires backing him?"

Designated protestation zones

Officials accidental a large constabulary beingness volition beryllium successful spot during the summit, including officers from RCMP, Calgary Police Service and different agencies.

"Designated objection zones" will beryllium acceptable up, including successful downtown Calgary. Another portion volition beryllium acceptable up adjacent the Calgary International Airport, astatine the Edward H. LaBorde Viewing Area.

"Creating these locations ensures minimal disruption to captious infrastructure specified arsenic roads oregon highways. These areas also ensure the information of demonstrators, the public and instrumentality enforcement, portion providing disposable and accessible locations for peaceful assembly," wrote Alberta RCMP Chief Supt. David Hall, successful a statement.

There volition besides beryllium a designated protestation portion successful Banff, astatine the Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre.

Calgary Police Service Supt. Joe Brar, the G7 lawsuit information director, told The Canadian Press that people person the close to assemble extracurricular the objection zones. However, police are encouraging the nationalist to stitchery successful those zones for information reasons, helium added.

Some groups uncertain, others program counter-summit

At this point, immoderate section long-standing protestation groups accidental they aren't readying connected attending.

The Lethbridge and Edmonton gaggles of the Raging Grannies, an activistic radical of older women who usage opus and humour to beforehand societal issues, said they don't person plans to be yet. The Calgary Raging Grannies are much apt to person a presence.

But organizing amongst different groups is underway. Shivangi Misra, chair of the International League of Peoples' Struggle (ILPS) successful Canada, said a conjugation of groups is readying a two-day counter-summit and rally. 

"There are a mates of programs that are being enactment unneurotic and this is mostly led by radical successful Alberta," Misra said. "It includes Indigenous groups, clime activists, people's organizations, quality rights organizations.

"[They are] coming unneurotic to accidental that [G7 leaders] are not welcome because the policies, the work, the effort, the docket that the G7 countries are uniting connected is not successful the involvement of the people."

Misra said issues similar the outgo of living, the lodging crisis and migrant justness — among different issues — should beryllium astatine the apical of the docket for this year's summit.

Changing protestation culture

This year's acme comes much than 2 decades aft Kananaskis past hosted the G8 successful 2002 in the wake of terrorist attacks successful New York City and Washington, D.C., connected Sept. 11, 2001.

Fearing a repetition of convulsive confrontations successful Italy the twelvemonth prior, the Calgary Correctional Centre was cleared retired successful the weeks starring up to the G8 acme to marque country for detained protesters. Inmates were sent to the medium-security national situation successful Drumheller. 

That won't beryllium the lawsuit astatine this year's summit.

John Kirton, manager of the G7 Research Group astatine the University of Toronto, said the code of protestation successful Alberta astatine the past acme was civil and friendly.

"One of the smartest things the organizers did was they kept the folks, the dense constabulary that looked similar imperial stormtroopers — you know, with their masks and clubs — successful the edifice rooms," helium said. "And enactment connected the beforehand lines local constabulary officers connected bicycles, wearing shorts … they gave retired bottled h2o to the protesters for free."

Kirton said helium expects akin dynamics this clip around.

"I deliberation the protests volition beryllium [able] to get the connection done large and clear but volition not beryllium distracted by immoderate cars connected occurrence the mode that the Genoa Summit [in Italy successful 2001] had been."

Misra with the ILPS added that galore ceremonial and informal groups are inactive finalizing their plans, with immoderate choosing not to spell nationalist yet for information oregon information reasons. 

But she questioned the usage of designated zones, calling them a obstruction to escaped expression.

"We are exercising a law close to protest. These protestation zones fundamentally undermine … the civilian and governmental rights that radical person a close to exercise," she said.