Protesters assemble in Calgary for seventh day in opposition to carbon tax

Hundreds of demonstrators assembled on the Trans-Canada Highway roadside west of Calgary for an Axe the Tax rally in opposition to a recent increase in the federal "carbon tax".

The protest featured many messages promoting themes of freedom, liberty, and criticisms of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Protest signage also promoted Canadian patriotism, rejections of the government's claims of "climate change" and "global warming" – including the government's framing of carbon dioxide as a "pollutant" – and left-wing organizations such as the World Economic Forum.

Many protesters expressed a need for Canadians to "wake up" from political delusions and disconnectedness, while acknowledging that Canadians' political awareness grows in response to increasingly coercive, extractive, and onerous governmental taxation and regulation.

Rebel News reporters @rkraychik and @_angelica_toy are on the scene of the Axe the Tax protest on the Trans-Canada Highway in Alberta today as protestors carry on for day 7.

Stay tuned for updates.https://t.co/dh39RL9gvx pic.twitter.com/yXUDnigPOL

— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) April 7, 2024

Increases in the cost of living are outpacing wealth and income growth, noted many demonstrators. They highlighted government policies' role in driving up living costs, including inflation.

Protesters also spoke of increasing rates of drug abuse and addiction, vagrancy, and destitution as indicative of worsening economic welfare across the country. Some said food banks and homeless shelters were under more strain than in previous years.

WATCH: Protester trolls RCMP officers as they leave the scene at the Axe the Tax protest on the Trans-Canada Highway in Alberta.https://t.co/8miah4Ytbd pic.twitter.com/t8JC5lZkNN

— Angelica (@_angelica_toy) April 2, 2024

Some Canadians have left the country – with many others considering the same escape – to what they view as freer and more prosperous countries, particularly the U.S., noted some rallygoers.

Protesters have been attending the Axe The Tax rally since April 1, when the most recent federal "carbon tax" was imposed.