'I don't want to be part of the U.S.': Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., to host Elbows Up rally

Jonathan Migneault · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 25, 2025 6:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 32 minutes ago

Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., volition beryllium the latest metropolis to big an Elbows Up rally, meant to amusement enactment for Canadian sovereignty successful the look of threats from U.S. President Donald Trump.

Frank O'Connor, a long-time concern proprietor from the bluish Ontario city, said helium discussed the thought of a rally with 2 of his friends erstwhile they learned determination was a nationalist enactment called Elbows Up, Canada that had already organized akin rallies successful Toronto, Ottawa and Halifax.

"I person household successful the U.S., I question successful the U.S., but I don't privation to beryllium portion of the U.S.," O'Connor said.

"I emotion Canada, I emotion our history. I emotion our Indigenous peoples, the archetypal caretakers of this land. We are a sovereign federation and we privation to enactment that way."

O'Connor said the lawsuit volition instrumentality spot connected Saturday astatine Sault Ste. Marie's Downtown Plaza and volition diagnostic euphony from section musicians, on with respective speakers, including Sault Ste. Marie Mayor Matthew Shoemaker. 

It volition extremity with a rendition of O Canada from section vocalist Annette Bouchard.

"The extremity is to get, if we person 2,000 radical there, to get them each singing arsenic large arsenic they tin and arsenic off-key arsenic they can," said O'Connor, the long-time erstwhile proprietor of the Voyageur Lodge and Cookhouse successful Batchewana Bay. 

While the lawsuit volition instrumentality spot lone days earlier Canada's national election, O'Connor said it's intended to beryllium a non-partisan affair.

"I person friends successful the Conservative Party, the Liberal Party, the NDP Party, the Green Party and I privation them each to beryllium here," helium said.

"The lone request is you emotion your country."

Solidarity rally crossed the river

During the Elbows Up rally, a radical of Americans crossed the St. Marys River, successful Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., volition clasp their ain solidarity rally.

Katie Fink, 1 of the event's organizers, said its portion of a bid of rallies in Michigan borderline towns to basal successful solidarity with Canadians.

"These are non-partisan, non-political events showing our Canadian neighbours and friends and the borderline cities that we are lasting successful solidarity with them, that we don't adhere to immoderate of the things that are coming retired of our government," Fink said.

Fink said she expects astatine slightest 200 radical from crossed Michigan's Upper Peninsula to be the American rally. She said galore volition transverse the span into Canada aft their lawsuit to be the Canadian rally.

"We recognize you're mad. We recognize however this is affecting each of us," Fink said, referring to Canadians upset with the Trump administration's presumption connected Canada.

"We're going to basal with you. We don't hold with what our medication is doing."