'I don't want to be part of the U.S.': Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., to host Elbows Up rally

Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., will be the latest city to host an Elbows Up rally, meant to show support for Canadian sovereignty in the face of threats from U.S. President Donald Trump.

Frank O'Connor, a long-time business owner from the northern Ontario city, said he discussed the idea of a rally with two of his friends when they learned there was a national organization called Elbows Up, Canada that had already organized similar rallies in Toronto, Ottawa and Halifax.

"I have family in the U.S., I travel in the U.S., but I don't want to be part of the U.S.," O'Connor said.

"I love Canada, I love our history. I love our Indigenous peoples, the first caretakers of this land. We are a sovereign nation and we want to stay that way."

O'Connor said the event will take place on Saturday at Sault Ste. Marie's Downtown Plaza and will feature music from local musicians, along with several speakers, including Sault Ste. Marie Mayor Matthew Shoemaker. 

It will end with a rendition of O Canada from local singer Annette Bouchard.

"The goal is to get, if we have 2,000 people there, to get them all singing as loud as they can and as off-key as they can," said O'Connor, the long-time former owner of the Voyageur Lodge and Cookhouse in Batchewana Bay. 

While the event will take place only days before Canada's federal election, O'Connor said it's intended to be a non-partisan affair.

"I have friends in the Conservative Party, the Liberal Party, the NDP Party, the Green Party and I want them all to be here," he said.

"The only requirement is you love your country."

Solidarity rally across the river

During the Elbows Up rally, a group of Americans across the St. Marys River, in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., will hold their own solidarity rally.

Katie Fink, one of the event's organizers, said its part of a series of rallies in Michigan border towns to stand in solidarity with Canadians.

"These are non-partisan, non-political events showing our Canadian neighbours and friends and the border cities that we are standing in solidarity with them, that we don't adhere to some of the things that are coming out of our government," Fink said.

Fink said she expects at least 200 people from across Michigan's Upper Peninsula to attend the American rally. She said many will cross the bridge into Canada after their event to attend the Canadian rally.

"We understand you're mad. We understand how this is affecting all of us," Fink said, referring to Canadians upset with the Trump administration's position on Canada.

"We're going to stand with you. We don't agree with what our administration is doing."