I'm in Victoria, B.C. where I had a morning speaking engagement. I was free of that by about 1:30 pm and managed to make it to the Canadians Against a Prorogued Parliament (CAPP) rally here about an hour into it. When I got there, at Centennial Square under bright sunshine on a warm day, there was still, by my count, about 400 there listening to speakers (Organizers I spoke to said there were 1,000 at the start but I cannot verify that number). I wasn't officially covering these rallies but Canwest reporters were covering this rally and dozens of similar rallies across the country, all of them initially organized via Facebook.
Earlier this week, I had wondered here if a hastily-organized CAPP-like rally in Toronto at an event Prime Minister Stephen Harper was attending was a not-so-successful test of translating online activism into rubber-hits-the-road activism.
Based on initial reports, some from independent sources, some from partisan sources, it would be difficult to call this day of rallies a failed test. In fact, thousands at events across the country have shown up.
Headline roundup:
Canwest: Thousands turn out at rallies to protest proroguing of Parliament :Frustration with the Harper government’s decision to prorogue Parliament spilled from the Internet onto the streets Saturday, as thousands of demonstrators gathered at rallies across Canada . . .
Toronto Star: Across Canada, protests urge reopening Parliament: About 3,000 people turned up at the doorstep of Parliament Hill today to protest against its shutdown by Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
Canadian Press: Thousands across the country protest proroguing of Parliament: Thousands of people of varying political stripes clogged city streets across the country on Saturday as they called on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to reopen Parliament and get back to work.
Some links, pix, and pointers:
- Here in Victoria, one speaker got a big cheers for: “Voter apathy makes Harper's misbehaviour possible.”
- Counting crowds is always a tough call but an important thing to do. I actually count when it's going to be an issue. Here's one reason why: CP, an independent source, says there were 3,000 at rally in Toronto; Jessica Denyer, on Twitter, said there was 10,000; William Molls, also on Twitter, says 7,000.
- Ian Capstick makes the case that, after you add 'em up, 25,000 people attended a CAPP rally. (Ian is the former press secretary for the federal NDP)
- Toronto Star columnist Antonia Zerbisias notes that only Global National led their dinner-hour newscast with the rallies. CBC, CITY and CTV led with other items. (Haiti presumably? though I haven't seen the newscasts)
- If there ever was an event built for the use of social media tools to let participants share their experiences, this was it. On Twitter, you can check out the #CAPP feed. (that's a Web link; you don't need to be on Twitter to play)
- Pic from rally in Maple Ridge, BC outside Conservative MP Randy Kamp's office.
- Outside Harper's constituency office in Calgary. Alexander Muir reports on Twitter that 250 attended this rally.
- Flickr set from the Parliament Hill rally taken by “Andrew978”
- Tony Tracy put pix on Facebook from Halifax Rally
The more common Twitter hash tag was #noprorogue, actually.
Far more people attended these rallies than attended the rallies against the proposed opposition coalition. Let's see how the Cons handle that.
Minimal numbers. Disappointing
About 430 here in Winnipeg. The march on the legislature stretched roughly 3 blocks. Misc photos here http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnstondigital but I assume more still and video images will be posted.
Interesting that the group was to my eye about 80% people aged 30 or over. Lots of mature people and seniors, though (bless 'em) the high-energy university students did most of our planning and setup. AND fed us hot chocolate afterwards! Well done!
Not so. 127K joined the anti-coalition FB group last year, and approximately 10K came out to rallies, according to Maclean's Aaron Wherry who looked at estimates last year – a ratio of FB supporters to protesters of about 7.5 – 8%. Yet, all the accounts I saw last yr didnt count that as “disappointing”. They pointed to it as an expression of the electoral discontent with the coalition, and the polling done at the time bore that out.
When 25K supporters attending rallies from 211K Facebook supporters this AM (#'s gone up a bit at the main group) is a better ratio, and we also have that corresponding poll drop in numbers for the Conservatives (down 15 points in 15 days, as Rick Mercer said in his rant on his RMR show this week), I think that's more then enough to say these rallies were very successful.
Apparently the police estimate on Toronto was 7,000. I have no idea – it's hard to tell from the middle.
Just out of curiosity, what was the total for all the anti-coalition rallies last year?
Aaron Wherry said an unscientific estimate count from last year showed it to be around 9600 total.
I seem to recall Ottawa's pro-coalition rally was on a weekday. Would have affected numbers attending I think…today's rallies benefited from being on a Saturday. But, hey I'm not knocking them. Pretty good for just being organized via facebook.
I don't know about the numbers, but I question whether these rallies were a true expression of a grassroots movement.
1. http://www.nugget.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2269304
“… The rally, organized by the Green Party of Canada Electoral District Association for Nipissing-Timiskaming,…”
2. http://hu-hu.facebook.com/group.php?gid=154743746530
Is this Shilo Davis (or Davies), one of the main FB organizers, the same Shilo Davis mentioned here? It appears so.
http://www.ndpadfw.ca
“Alex Johnstone NDP Candidate for ADFW NDP after tie vote
Dundas, ON – On the second ballot, Alex Johnstone won the Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale federal NDP candidacy for the upcoming federal election. A second ballot was required for this two person nomination process because the first ballot resulted in a tie between Johnstone and runner-up, Shilo Davis. …”
3. http://www.oakvillebeaver.com/news/article/292182
“A rally is being held in Oakville Jan. 23 to protest the suspension of Parliament by the Stephen Harper government.
The Rally for Democracy – Get Parliament Back to Work is at 1 p. m. on Jan. 23rd at Heritage Park, across from Oakville Conservative MP Terence Young’s office, 337 Kerr St.
The protest is spearheaded by the Oakville NDP Riding Association, but is open to anyone. …”
4. The Council of Canadians webpage lists a number of rallies being held at various locations across Canada:
http://www.canadians.org/events/index.html
And what about this group's “non-partisan” study?:
http://www.rideauinstitute.ca/file-library/Facebook-and-Prorogation-Study-Release.pdf
So, the Facebook group may have started out as a grassroots group of “non-partisan” Canadians, although I doubt that even people like Christopher White are completely “non-partisan.”
Maybe some of those that subsequently joined the FB group are indeed “non-partisan.” But the fact some of the rallies were organized by opposition riding associations, or by lobby groups that traditionally oppose the Conservatives, tells me that these rallies were not as “non-partisan” as has been claimed.
In response to the comments about the rallies being very partisan:
I don't think it is surprising if people who voted for parties other than the Conservatives were the bulk of the attendees. However, in Victoria there was a shout out to identify Conservatives in the crowd, and there were a few cheers.
Of course there are going to be partisans in the crowds – I'm sure there were plenty of Conservatives in those anti-coalition rallies last year; in fact I'm positive of that – and of course some of the non-Con parties organizations would ask if their folks would come out to support it. But the CAPP organization seems to have been for the most part had an emphasis that affiliating with a party was not encouraged.
I know it's hard to admit, Gabby, that your guy is going thru a poll drop after what even you should admit was a boneheaded move, but c'mon, you can do better then that bit of nitpicking on “partisans” showing up.
This post is little too exuberant for an ostensibly objective journalist. But what am I saying, you're the same guy who claimed that Trudeau, a notorious skinflint, paid $200,000 of his own money for a swimming pool at 24 Sussex, when in fact a property developer (who was later rewarded with 2 patronage appointments) installed it for him gratis, so it's not like you're even pretending to be objective these days.
“Of course there are going to be partisans in the crowds …”
No surprise – you've missed the point entirely.
The FB group has been touted by many media as being an entirely “grassroots” movement spearheaded by non-partisans, as well as an example of the efficacy of social media such as Twitter and FB in mobilizing “non-aligned” people.
The few examples of partisan organizers I provided – and there may be others that I am not aware of – are proof that the FB may have started as a true grassroots movement (although I have my doubts about that as well) but the FB group was soon co-opted by the usual suspects – the anti-Harper crowd.
I'm sure the NDP, the Greens, the Council of Canadians and the Rideau Institute would object to your describing them as mere “nits” I've picked.
As for admitting Harper's move “was a boneheaded move” I said it was a risky move on Dec 30, after prorogation was announced, on another blog.
I thought it was risky not because I saw it as an abuse of power, as a diminishment of our democracy, or any of the other ridiculously outlandish accusations made by the anti-Harper gang, but because I expected the usual suspects to turn a usually routine procedural move into an anti-Harper fest.
The PM's advisors should have realized that the opposition would find a way to twist a normal procedural move – prorogation – into a negative for the Harper government.
Since I have no influence nor connection with the PMO, my Cassandra-like abilities could not illuminate that decision.
Ah, woe is me! I'm sure you wield far greater influence in your camp than I do in mine.
BTW, for those who still think prorogation is an anti-democratic move, read this column about a prominent anti-prorogation piano player here: http://www.torontosun.com/comment/columnists/christina_blizzard/2010/01/22/12577221.html
And the Save the Jets Rally in Winnipeg drew over 35,000. Are you saying the people in Winnipeg favour hockey over democracy? 35,000 over 400?
Or is the facebook party in Winnipeg just a social gathering?
Pick one.
The 35,000 back up by $13M of private donations didn't even slow down the Jets leaving Winnipeg.
This link was passed to me by a friend, and is hyper partisan, but the point is that if one was looking for hyper partisanship, it was indeed visible and loud…so to pretend it ended up as a cross section of “average” Canada might be a bit of a stretch…
http://canadaconservative.blogspot.com/2010/01/liberals-and-ndp-takeover-prorogue.html
Who passed the test? Canadians or the national media?
With the national media, unions and special interest groups having 2 solid weeks to organize and promote……not that great a turn out for all the Harper-haters that are supposed to be out there.
300 in Montreal? Harper can pull in 3 times that with 24 hours notice.
And the antiCoalition of Losers rallies did not have weeks of national media promotion and special interest groups organizing.
This was national media driven, the results must be disappointing for our msm.
The media-Harper war continues.
So now where from here Scott?
How are these Facebookers and unions and special interest groups going to react to Liberals hiding in the hallways, to avoid confidence votes?
And when Mr Iffy will not back Dippers proposed legislation?
And when Mr Iffy declares that the recovery is 'not his problem'?
And when the LPC supports the Speech from the Throne and Budget 2010?
As an old Reformer, I think waking up Canadians is fantastic,
maybe now they will take a really really good look at the LPC and their leader.
Total flop… so obvious.
The demonstrators are just the usual malcontents … unionists, gays, haters, opposition party workers, frightened NGO and CBC types fearing funding slashes in the upcoming March Budget.
Of course the incompetent Canadian MSM hacks had nothing else to peddle, and they wanted to demonstrate to the PM, their politico-journalistic power. Come the March-April election, there should be many retirements within the MSM after Harper wins his majority gov't.
“The demonstrators are just the usual malcontents ”
….and a voter who has NEVER attended a protest before who remembers what they were taught about our democratic system.
Prorogation is a tool that is used when a government has FINISHED it's legislative agenda. It is NOT a tool to avoid accountability. A simple concept really.
From this article in the Globe And Mail
“A crowd of about 100 stood outside the legislature in Halifax”
“In Edmonton, about 250 people”
“In Montreal, hundreds also stood in a downtown public square”
It is safe to assume that numbers are worse in other cities in Canada or they would report them.
To think if anything these figures are inflated, what a dismal turnout for this big rally promoted by the partisan pundits in the media.
Since the CBC took this demonstration on as a personal crusade with incessant publicity for the last few weeks, and yesterday running on screen messages inviting people to attend the prorogation demonstrations in their communities, must just demonstrate once again, that obviously nobody watches the CBC, and we should maybe begin a Face Book protest, that Canadian taxpayers are wasting a billion dollars a year subsidizing this broadcasting abortion. One thing you can be sure, after what Canadians saw on TV and read, these same pundits will not be able to convince Canadians this was a huge success and demonstration – it was a dismal flop. Three party leaders Ignatieff. Layton and May, at the rally in Ottawa as headliners and entertainment couldn't hold a thousand people there for the duration of the rally. Ignatieff will now have to go back to the drawing board, and follow through with his earlier promise in January “to investigate the conduct of our troops on the ground” in Afghanistan, who they have accused of being complicit in committing war crimes in Afghanistan because “they detained and handed over for torture a lot of innocent people”. What is more, all Ignatieff and the Liberals have found, to this point in time for substantiation of their accusations of abuse, is some Taliban detainee being hit with a shoe, but their slurs and condemnations of our military continue.
To end on something light, the CBC are reporting, would you believe, that in Calgary “a group of protesters gathered outside the prime minister’s constituency office” ( it was never clarified but it was reported that these were people actually waiting for a bus and not prorogation protesters) and the CBC didn't mention, that in vast majority of the cities across Canada, nobody but nobody showed up.
A sure sign of success – the Con trolls are out in full force with their PM approved talking points. They're everywhere.
Just had a thought – what arrogance for a reporters to think they decide success or not.
And for those who are criticizing Facebook and/or Twitter – do you think it's bad that they brought us photos and info on Haiti?
I was expecting after weeks of positvie media coverage and cheerleading that millions of Canadians would be storming the barricades with pitchforks to overthrow the government and install the Liberal socialist seperatist coalition of national destruction
Only at best 25000 protesters? mostly rabid Liberal Harper haters, marxists, socialists, and the raging grannies!!!! . in the cities, the bastions of Liberal corruption.
This Media driven protest was a failure, no way else to spin that pathetic turn out.
Haper is taking care of business and if the Medai and the Liberals think they can overthrow the elected government then i suggest they vote down the government and lets have another election and let smarty pants Iggy show what he's got.
The media is not neutral and extremely biased towards the Liberals and cannot be trusted anymore by hardworking thoughtful Canadians, they think they are the oppositions when in fact they should be reporting not making the news or as Jane Taber like to think setting the agenda and trying to bring down the elected government for thier beloved corrupt Liberal party