A rally held in downtown Edmonton led to some tense moments between two groups of protesters.
Hundreds of protesters gathered at the Alberta Legislature Saturday morning donning yellow vests to protest a string of things including the United Nations, carbon tax, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The vests are similar to the ones worn by Parisians spearheading an anti-tax movement in the French capital.
It’s a movement that’s gaining steam across the world. Belgium, Holland and England have had high-profile yellow vest protests in previous weeks.
In Alberta, Edmontonians and Calgarians spoke out against high tax – but they also focused heavily on one of the province’s most important resources.
“I’m tired of Trudeau basically doing what he wants with our money and sending it overseas,” said Turk, a yellow-vested protestor. “Right now personally I’m facing a job crisis. All our oil jobs are gone, all our money is going south.”
The group went on to march towards Winston Churchill Square, where a smaller group of counter-protesters showed up. Many of that group held signs denouncing the anti-globalist demonstrators, calling them fascists and racists.
“I am here to fight racism and to fight hatred that is being put up by this group,” said Adebaya Quinitiiti, a counter-protestor at Churchill Square. “That anger they have is going to tear them apart. Things can be talked through without hatred, without racism.”
As people began to fill the square, some scuffles between the two groups broke out.
Multiple protesters were arrested and dozens of police officers were left on scene to monitor the hostile situation.
It’s not clear as to who is responsible for organizing the original protest. Online, the Canadian Coalition of Concerned Citizens took the credit, while at Churchill Square the National Citizens Alliance said they were the ones who started the protest.
Similar rallies were also held in Red Deer and Calgary.
With files from Timm Bruch
