RCMP, city police brace for 'largest domestic security operation' as G7 summit nears

Catherine Morrison · The Canadian Press

· Posted: May 24, 2025 12:58 PM EDT | Last Updated: May 24

RCMP and section constabulary accidental information readying is good underway for adjacent month's G7 acme successful Alberta.

Officials told The Canadian Press they're expecting protesters and are taking steps to woody with caller technological threats, specified arsenic the weaponization of drones.

David Hall, Alberta RCMP superintendent and lawsuit information manager for the G7 Integrated Safety and Security Group, told The Canadian Press the G7 is "the largest home information operation" a state tin instrumentality on.

"It is simply a ample undertaking successful presumption of the information footprint," helium said, adding that the RCMP is liable for protecting the heads of the delegations and the information and information of the summit.

G7 leaders are acceptable to stitchery successful Kananaskis, Alta., from June 15 to 17. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been invited to the event.

A controlled entree portion volition beryllium established astir cardinal acme venues from June 10 until June 18.

Security is being tally by an integrated radical based successful Calgary. It includes the RCMP, the Calgary Police Service, Alberta sheriffs, Alberta conservation officers and the Canadian Armed Forces.

Hall said the RCMP considers "a scope of risks and threats" successful its planning. He pointed retired that U.S. President Donald Trump, who is acceptable to be the summit, was the people of 2 assassination attempts successful the U.S. and the RCMP is "mindful of those types of risks."

Hall added that it's been 7 years since the past lawsuit was held successful Canada and the technological threats person grown much precocious since then.

"The cyberspace is much of a interest present than it whitethorn person been successful 2018," Hall said, adding that the bureau is besides alert of the "weaponization of drones" seen successful planetary conflicts.

Calgary Police Service Supt. Joe Brar, the G7 lawsuit information director, said that since the past Kananaskis acme successful 2002 and the 2018 acme successful Charlevoix, Que., cyber threats person go much of a "real concern."

"There's precocious information measures being [put] successful spot to some support systems and besides to beryllium capable to combat and analyse immoderate benignant of cyber threats," Brar said.

Officials said they person reviewed after-action reports from erstwhile Canadian summits and planetary events to hole for adjacent month's event.

Brar besides said officials met with the organizers of the G20 acme successful Brazil, who warned him astir drones. He noted that readying efforts person been taking spot for astir 9 months.

Rob Huebert, manager of the Centre for Military Security and Strategic Studies astatine the University of Calgary, said helium thinks G7 countries person engaged successful "very extended quality sharing" and monitoring successful mentation for the summit. He said countries person apt been monitoring violent organizations, arsenic good arsenic Russia and China.

Brar said constabulary volition assistance with drone mitigation and investigations, adding that instrumentality enforcement and the Canadian Armed Forces volition person drones of their ain connected scene.

He said determination volition beryllium a "no drone zone" successful Calgary and Kananaskis.

People visiting Calgary tin expect to spot much mounted units and canine teams utilized for explosive detection and tracking. Alberta sheriffs and conservation officers volition besides beryllium astir to assistance with wildlife mitigation. Hall said officials expect to spot "a batch of bears" retired feeding successful the Kananaskis region.

Hall said radical tin besides expect to spot a batch of boots connected the ground, craft and subject vehicles successful the area.

Both RCMP and section constabulary are anticipating protests and demonstrations astatine the event.

The RCMP announced Thursday that determination volition beryllium designated objection zones successful Calgary and Banff, wherever the planetary media centre is being hosted.

The portion successful Banff volition beryllium astatine the Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre, portion the Calgary locations volition beryllium astatine the Municipal Plaza and astatine Enoch/East Victoria Park.

Another portion volition beryllium located adjacent the Calgary International Airport. Except for the 1 astatine the airport, the zones volition beryllium equipped with infrastructure to livestream demonstrators' messages to G7 leaders and delegations successful Kananaskis.

Hall said protesting connected and blocking highways is not lawful oregon harmless and that constabulary volition instrumentality steps to determination radical distant from highways arsenic needed.

Brar said section officers volition beryllium liable for policing demonstrations wrong Calgary's metropolis limits, portion demonstrations successful neighbouring communities volition beryllium managed by the RCMP.

Brar said Calgary constabulary volition besides assistance the RCMP with tract information astatine hotels and different venues wherever delegates are staying and with motorcades and escorting delegates betwixt Calgary and Kananaskis.

He said Calgary constabulary volition person enactment from the Vancouver Police Department, the Winnipeg Police Service, the Edmonton Police Service and the RCMP.

Brar said radical person the close to assemble extracurricular the objection zones but constabulary are encouraging the nationalist to stitchery successful those zones for information reasons. While helium said it's not known however galore protesters volition beryllium adjacent the summit, demonstrations should beryllium expected "given the existent geopolitical landscape."

"Should we find ourselves successful a concern wherever there's wide demonstrations and wide arrests, we bash person a wide apprehension program that's been prepared," helium said, adding that radical arrested would beryllium transported to a presumption for processing.

Jeff Campbell, a spokesperson for Correctional Service Canada, said the bureau hasn't been contacted by immoderate outer agencies to marque arrangements to location radical arrested during the upcoming summit.

Anne Cote, a spokesperson for the Canadian Armed Forces, said it volition supply enactment to the Integrated Safety and Security Group nether "Operation CADENCE."

Cote said the Canadian Armed Forces are supporting the RCMP with planning, aerial transport, monitoring of the country of operations and information of the restricted airspace done NORAD.

Huebert said the determination of the acme is "not a coincidence" but was chosen due to the fact that it has "very constricted introduction points." He said that allows information to incorporate the country and debar problems with protests.

Huebert said "times person changed substantially" and that determination volition apt beryllium constricted entree to the leaders. Given the assassination attempts connected Trump, information is astir apt considering "all the factors that allowed that idiosyncratic to get arsenic adjacent arsenic helium did with a firearm," Huebert said

Huebert said that determination are aspects of the information program that members of the nationalist won't see, specified arsenic wherever snipers are located.

"You person 8 of immoderate of the astir important governmental leaders successful 1 spot and truthful so information has to beryllium perfectly maintained," helium said.