Protests were held in Red Deer over the weekend, mirroring similar gatherings across the province in Calgary, Grande Prairie, and one in Edmonton that saw police having to step-in to break-up opposing protesters.

Although the messages of the protestors vary, there were a few main points the signs and chanting got across: people in Alberta are unhappy with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the carbon tax, and our standing with the United Nations, especially the UN Global Compact for Migration.

Following the lead of yellow vest protestors in Paris, supporters of this movement donned yellow vests as they hit Ross Street in Red Deer on Saturday, December 15th, in front of Veterans Park.

There were plenty of signs expressing their anger on a variety of issues, but the main message appeared to be directed towards Prime Minister Trudeau and how they feel that Alberta has been ignored on the federal level as our economy slowly crawls back from our latest bust, in the boom-and-bust cycle which has controlled our provincial economy for years.

One protester in Red Deer, who didn't want to give her name, says she doesn't believe the Canadian government is supporting its own people.

“I’m here to support our country. I’m against our government and what they are trying to do. They are taking away rights of people, they’re taking away jobs of people; their focus is not where it should be…(the yellow vests) means people that live in this country are taken care of, and the government who we are supposed to support supports us as well…Trudeau is full of treason. In every sentence he says, it’s not for Canadians.”

Howard Bradley was there, and he says people from every demographic are being affected by federal policies.

“There’s people here from every walk of life. People are just fed up with the leadership, the lack of leadership, from Ottawa. Trudeau’s old man tried to ruin western Canada and he’s going to try and finish it, or even worse take Canada down. I believe he should be charged with treason.”

There is also a general mistrust of government and media in all forms at these rallies, with one protestor saying they feel the media is only pushing the agenda of the federal Liberals, ever since it was announced that $600 million in tax credits and incentives would be given to the media over the next five years.

There was also accusations of censorship on the part of social media company’s like Facebook and Twitter, often the main format where these a rallies are organized.