At the rush hour peak on March 24, nearly 200 Calgarians gathered to protest both the governments of the United States of America and the province of Alberta in what they said was a rally for Canadian unity.

The protests took place as part of a nationwide day of protest organized by True North HQ at United States consulates, including the one in Calgary—although the identities of organizers for the protest were not immediately available to LWC.

Calgarians though, through word of mouth or through social media, gathered at the corner of 7 Avenue and Macleod Trail SE before 4 p.m. at the Rocky Mountain Plaza building to be a part of the protest.

Their disdain equally shared for the actions of the Trump administration, and for Alberta’s Premier Danielle Smith appearance as being cozy to that administration.

James Lee, one of the protesters, said that he showed up because he considered himself a Canadian first and an Albertan second.

“Canadians are going to show their disdain for Alberta because of Danielle Smith and her take on this stuff. We shouldn’t be paying for this stuff,” Lee said.

“We need to step up and support each other, Canada, and some of the initiatives that are happening that are good. I think we’ve got our flag back from the convoy. We’ve got our national unity back.”

He said that he was particularly disgusted with Premier Smith’s comments to far right American media outlet Breitbart News—formerly helmed by 2016 Donald Trump election campaign chief and convicted criminal, Steve Bannon.

Smith was quoted by the outlet as saying “what I fear, is that the longer this dispute goes on, politicians posture, and it seems to be benefiting the Liberals right now,” Smith said.

“So, I would hope that we could put things on pause is what I’ve told administration officials. Let’s just put things on pause so we can get through an election.”

That statement led to denials by Premier Smith’s press secretary Sam Blackett to the CBC that any suggestion that she had attempted to ask the US to interfere the Canadian federal general election—now ongoing—as offensive and false.

That statement made to Breitbart News however, for Lee, was the catalyst for his attendance at the protest—along with the Alberta Government paying for Premier Smith to travel to Florida to speak with former editor-in-chief of Breitbart News and far-right commentator Ben Shapiro at a conservative advocacy organization self-styled as a university, PragerU.

“I believe that this government is, for instance, in Alberta has done a terrible thing with this Breitbart News issue,” Lee said.

Premier Smith defended the use of taxpayer dollars for the trip, saying that it was an important part of soft-diplomacy towards the Trump administration.

Trump blunders lead to more Calgarians feeling the need to protest

Caitlyn Bickford, who also attended the protest, said that her turning point to want to protest against the US Government was the beratement of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the oval office on Feb. 28.

“I’ve dealt with bullies my whole life, and I couldn’t stand what I saw in that office. I think Zelensky is an absolute hero. He’s a war hero.”

She said the threat that Trump has posed to Canada galvanized and reinforced the Canadiana in Canadians, including herself.

“We all live in our little privileged bubble in Canada. I think having this threat has awakened most of us and enlightened us to the fact that the world is actually pretty small now, and these threats and issues and geopolitical problems do exist, and Canada is not immune to it,” Bickford said.

She said though that her personal ire was for the Trump administration, and not the people of the United States.

“I think the majority of Americans are our friends, and as Canadians, we have to stand beside them as friends. That’s just being a Canadian. You got to stand up for your friends and we’re always going to be there for our friends, and so I think they need to know that we are their friends and we’re not we’re not against the American people,” Bickford said.

“Even if you did vote for Trump in the past, hindsight is 20/20. We need to move forward and we need to change now.”

That was a sentiment shared by Julie Roper, who said that the staff in the US Consulate were probably thanking the protesters.

“The majority of Americans are not happy with what’s going on. They’re probably up there saying, ‘oh, thank God, Canada amongst other countries around the world, are behind us,'” Roper said.

“So stand strong we’ll fight with you. We’re not going to become a 51st state, but we’re all fighting for what’s right: democracy, not fascism.”