Coutts, Alta., border demonstration enters Day 8 amid other planned Alberta protests

An ongoing protest impeding travel to the United States border enters Day 8, while police anticipate several other demonstrations to take place around Alberta Saturday — all in solidarity with anti-vaccine-mandate protesters in Ottawa.

Protesters at the border town of Coutts, Alta., are staying put, after a plan made earlier this week to vacate the site and head north to a protest in Edmonton was scrapped.

Vocal supporters remaining near the border eventually influenced organizers to change course. Among them was Calgary-based street pastor Artur Pawlowski, who was previously charged with breaking health regulations.

"This movement is snowballing. You've seen the effects," said Marco Van Huigenbos, one of the organizers of the southern Alberta convoy and a town councillor for Fort Macleod, Alta.

For a time, the demonstration blockaded both lanes to the Canada-U.S. border, prompting RCMP to issue a statement saying it is unlawful to wilfully obstruct the highway, citing Alberta's Critical Infrastructure Defence Act.

WATCH | Many locals support Alberta border blockade despite disruptions:

On Friday, lanes to the border opened and closed intermittently, with protesters moving in to block southbound traffic on Highway 4 on at least one occasion.

One protester told CBC News at the time that the move was made because not enough progress was being made toward the group's goals of lifting pandemic mandates.

On Saturday morning, some protesters gathered just north of Coutts, near the town of Milk River, Alta., while others rode south on horseback toward the border.

Some have also moved north and plan to demonstrate at the Alberta Legislature in Edmonton, or at multiple other pop-up protests around the province this weekend.

Coutts Mayor Jim Willett said the ongoing protest in southern Alberta has been hard on residents in his village.

"It's not just hard on my residents. It's hard on small farmers, and people who have to ship across this border," he said.

The demonstration is tied to an ongoing national protest that organizers call the Freedom Convoy. Initially, it began to push back against federal rules for unvaccinated or partially vaccinated truckers that took effect Jan. 15.

Since launching late last month, the rally has grown to include other protesters opposed to vaccine mandates and other public health measures, and they have settled in Ottawa for over a week.