Rally against lifting of COVID-19 restrictions hosted outside Alberta legislature Saturday
Approximately 200 people attended a rally at the Alberta legislature grounds Saturday as many continued to voice frustration and fear at the province’s plan to lift remaining COVID-19 restrictions next month.
On Wednesday, the province announced it was shifting its public health response and lifting a number of measures related to quarantine, isolation, testing, and masks.
Health Minister Tyler Shandro said the changes in pandemic posture follow a rise in vaccination numbers.
"The data shows that what the vaccines are doing is making it less infectious and less deadly. That's a good thing that allows us to move to that endemic response."
- 'Throwing caution to the wind': Experts react to Alberta’s changing quarantine policy
- 'The inevitable next step': Alberta health minister defends COVID-19 policy changes
- Alberta to eliminate COVID-19 quarantine rules as cases rise among the unvaccinated

Albert Nobbes, event organizer and Alberta Activist Collective member, told CTV News Edmonton the rally was focused on giving people a way to channel their frustration.
The organizer hoped the rally would bring people together and exchange concerns about how the shift in provincial policy will affect their pandemic experience.
“There’s enough misinformation in the air that the only thing we can really do is talk to each other,” Nobbes said.
“We need to get this message out,” he added. “We can’t let this government proceed with dropping the ball in every angle.
“We need them to step up their game.”
The group plans to host more protests on Sunday and Monday.
“We have no intention of stopping,” Nobbes said.
Similar rallies were hosted in Calgary on Saturday and across the province on Friday as well.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cabinet heard of potential 'breakthrough' with 'Freedom Convoy' protesters before Emergencies Act was invoked: documents
The night before the federal government invoked the Emergencies Act in response to the 'Freedom Convoy' protests, the prime minister’s national security adviser told him there was 'a potential for a breakthrough' in Ottawa, court documents show.

Sellers 'expecting yesterday's prices': Canadians cope with a correcting housing market
After a series of interest rate hikes implemented by the Bank of Canada, housing markets are now facing a 'significant' correction. CTVNews.ca spoke to Canadians who are now struggling to make the goal of purchasing a home, or selling one, a reality.
A new virus was found in China, here's what we know
Scientists are keeping an eye on the Langya virus, a new pathogen that appears to have been transmitted from animals to humans in China and causes symptoms similar to COVID-19 or the flu.
EXCLUSIVE | B.C. cop stalked ex-girlfriend for years using police computers, misconduct probe finds
A high-ranking B.C. officer used police resources to conduct at least 92 searches on his ex-girlfriend and her family while stalking her over a period of five years, according to documents exclusively obtained by CTV News.
Power restored in Toronto after hours-long outage likely caused by crane hitting transmission line
Power has been restored in Toronto's downtown core after a widespread outage caused major disruptions in the city Thursday.
Police investigating attack on Brampton, Ont. media personality as attempted murder
A Brampton, Ont. media personality who was attacked with a machete and axe in his driveway will need months of physical rehabilitation to recover, a close friend says.
U.S. Justice Dept. seeks to unseal search warrant of Trump home
The U.S. Justice Department is asking a federal court to unseal the warrant the FBI used to search the Mar-a-Lago estate of former president Donald Trump, Attorney General Merrick Garland said Thursday, acknowledging extraordinary public interest in the case about classified records.
Man who tried to breach FBI office killed after standoff
An armed man clad in body armor who tried to breach the FBI's Cincinnati office on Thursday was shot and killed by police after he fled the scene and engaged in an hourslong standoff in a rural part of the state, the Ohio State Highway Patrol said.
'Devastating': Search continues for Sask. mushroom picker missing for 7 days
It’s been seven days since 74-year-old Lois Chartrand went missing while mushroom picking in the forest north of Smeaton, Sask.