Hundreds of protesters gather in downtown Calgary on first day of G7 in Alberta

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered at Calgary's Municipal Plaza on Sunday to chant, march and bring attention to the many concerns they feel world leaders need to grapple with when they meet in Kananaskis, Alta.

Calgary police estimated roughly 500 people showed up outside city hall on Day 1 of the three-day G7 Summit.

Protesters sported signs and waved flags in a bid to put a spotlight on issues affecting Kashmiri, Ethiopian, Palestinian and Ukrainian people, as well as to support Canadian sovereignty, water security and Indigenous rights, among other concerns.

In a statement late Sunday afternoon, police said several protests took place in downtown Calgary.

Most were peaceful but some demonstrators did not comply with traffic safety laws and interrupted emergency services, the statement said. Officers will review evidence gathered Sunday to decide if further action is needed.

The G7 summit, which runs through Tuesday, brings together Prime Minister Mark Carney, U.S. President Donald Trump and leaders from France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the European Union.

Other leaders like Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy were also invited to attend the event.

• As G7 kicks off today in Kananaskis, here's how it's expected to impact the Calgary region

Security officials call the summit the "largest domestic security operation" a country can take on.

The RCMP and Calgary police established "designated demonstration zones" ahead of the event in three locations around Calgary, as well as in Banff at the Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre. RCMP said the zones are set up to ensure minimal disruption to critical infrastructure, as well as for the safety of demonstrators, the public and law enforcement. Some protest groups have pushed back against the idea of these zones.

As of 1 p.m. on Sunday, police said no protesters were present at the other two local demonstration zones at East Victoria Park and near the Calgary airport. Demonstrations are expected to begin in the zone in Banff on Monday.

Later in the afternoon, protesters marched through Calgary's downtown. The march traveled down Macleod Trail, working its way to Stephen Avenue, before returning to city hall.

A large portion of protesters then set out again from city hall, travelling down Stephen Avenue.

Another group of protesters took to the streets for a driving protest on Sunday while flying banners in support of Khalistan, a proposed independent Sikh homeland in northern India. 

Dozens of vehicles set out from the Dashmesh Culture Centre in Martindale. The protestors returned to the centre after driving around neighbouring northeast communities.

The group was also demonstrating against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was invited to the G7 by Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Canada-India relations have been on shaky ground since former prime minister Justin Trudeau and the RCMP alleged Indian agents were involved in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the Canadian Khalistani separatist who was gunned down outside a Sikh temple in B.C. in 2023.

Calgary police said the lanes adjacent to the Fairmont Palliser Hotel in downtown Calgary will be closed starting Sunday until the end of the day on Tuesday. The closure includes the Fairmont parking lane, and the right traffic lane eastbound on 9th Avenue S.W. and the right lane northbound on 1st Street S.W.

Many of the activists and community groups who met in Calgary on Saturday for a "people's forum" also attended Sunday's downtown protests.

Yasmeen Khan of the International League of Peoples' Struggle said she was happy to see the turnout to Sunday's protest, adding attendees were looking forward to the day's march.

"Everybody's clamouring to go on the streets peacefully, but they just want to march and make it visible that people care — people in Calgary actually care that there is a G7 summit happening that does not include the people," Khan said. 

Khan also criticized the designated demonstration zones being set up instead of more direct communication between protesters and summit attendees.

"Why can't we have a direct conversation with our so-called leaders instead of being enclosed in one place and then it being transmitted over to Kananaskis? I think that is another reason we want to be on the streets," Khan said.

"If we are not allowed into these halls, into these corridors of privilege, then we will take the streets."

Mary Oxendale-Spensley is a member of the Calgary Raging Grannies group that also attended the protest on Sunday.

She said her group is pushing back against Trump's comments about making Canada the 51st state, to protect Canada's water security, and in support of Palestinian, African and Ukrainian demonstrators.

Isa Carlin from Migrante Alberta attended the demonstration to advocate for the rights of Filipino migrant workers in the province. The combination of groups protesting together is a sign of solidarity, Carlin said.

"We really want to show our voice, and say that we're united with other people, with migrants from other backgrounds, with Canadian working people, with Indigenous people, with people passionate about climate and environmental issues," Carlin said. 

"We're united with all of them in saying the G7 summit doesn't represent us and we need a system that does."

One protester, Ashley Lacombe, arrived with a sign saying "Canada Strong Free and United."

Lacombe, who says she works in oil and gas in Alberta, said she wanted to send a message that amid talks of a referendum on Alberta separatism, that not all Albertans are in favour of leaving Canada.

"A lot of Canadians don't feel that we want to be part of the U.S., but there is some sympathies within Alberta," Lacombe said.

"There is talk about a separatist movement and I just wanted it to be clear that not everyone in Alberta particularly feels that way. I definitely believe in a unified Canada."