Protesters gather at Calgary city hall as G7 kicks off in Kananaskis
Posted Jun 16, 2025 4:20 pm.
Last Updated Jun 16, 2025 7:38 pm.
Protests in downtown Calgary were largely peaceful and somewhat restrained Monday as the G7 leaders’ summit got underway in Kananaskis.
Demonstrations were held at Municipal Plaza outside city hall, one of the three designated protest zones in the city, along with Enoch Park and another zone near the airport.
The largest group on site Monday was Justice for Sikhs, by mid-afternoon there were more than a 100 gathered with others still arriving by train.
The group waved blue and yellow Khalistan flags and held up posters Monday condemning Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of his visit to the G7 leaders’ summit. Modi is expected to arrive in Calgary later Monday
CityNews heard from one participant who said some protesters had driven from Manitoba and B.C., with others flying in from the U.S. and the U.K.
Spokesperson Kuljit Singh says they are thankful that Prime Minister Mark Carney invited Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the G7 since Sikhs in India don’t have the right to demonstrate.
“India is one of the government’s who hides behind the cloak of being the world’s largest democracy, but they don’t believe in freedom of expression, or freedom of speech,” says Singh.
Last fall, the RCMP accused Modi’s government of having a role in murder, coercion and extortion in Canada. Before that, in 2023, then prime minister Justin Trudeau accused Indian government agents of being involved in the killing in Surrey, B.C. of Sikh separation activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar
The group arrived at Municipal Plaza around 7 a.m. and plans to stay camped out in front of a livestream camera broadcasting to leaders in Kananaskis for the next 48 hours.
Everything remained peaceful despite limited space in front of the camera. At one point a man marched through the crowd of Sikh protesters carrying a pro-Ukraine flag.
“It’s great for some people, but for others they took the camera space,” said Edward Cooney. “It’s hard to get time in.”
Cooney was born in Montreal and lives in Calgary, he did three tours of Ukraine as a civilian volunteer.
“I’m support the Ukraine people, I’m here and I’m here alone, but it doesn’t matter,” he says. “One person is just like an army anywhere else.”
WATCH: What Calgarians are noticing around the city during the G7
Another couple came armed with anti-Trump shirts and signs. They say they unhappy with most of the U.S. president’s policies, including comments he made at the start of the summit while meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Trump spent some of his time in front of reporters Monday railing against former prime minister Justin Trudeau and former president Barack Obama, blaming them both for the decision to eject Russia from what was then known as the G8 in 2014.
Trudeau was first elected prime minister in 2015. Stephen Harper was prime minister when Russia was ousted from the G8 after annexing Crimea.
The other protest zones in Calgary, at Enoch Park and near the airport along McKnight Boulevard, remained relatively vacant through the day Monday.
The G7 summit and the designated protest sites in Calgary will remain until Tuesday.
With files from The Canadian Press
