The protesters hoped to draw attention from G7 leaders to a variety of issues, including U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to annex Canada.
“We’re not experts on the G7. We do know that we want to communicate a few messages that Canada is not for sale,” said Mary Oxendale Spensley, a local resident.
“There’s water and other resources that he’s got his eye on,” Spensley said.
Trish Clark, calling herself “a raging granny in Calgary,” said, “We’re a sovereign country, and just like any other country. We love our country, and we want to stay as our own country.”
The G7 summit unveiled its slimmed-down agenda on Sunday, prioritizing discussions on the global economy and energy security.
Originally scheduled to begin over the weekend, the summit has been shortened to two days and will officially start on Monday.
The G7 is an informal bloc comprising seven of the world’s advanced economies — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain, and the United States — along with the European Union.
