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Welcome to Toronto … Are you up for a Protest?

Kyle Dupont

I’m the new intern at This Magazine and throughout the summer I will be following the potential resurgence of the Occupy movement in Toronto. You can expect to find weekly updates surrounding different protests, individuals and ideas in our blog section every Wednesday.

I guess this is the point when I should let you know a little bit about myself and my stance on the issue at hand. I have been living and going to school in New Brunswick for the past two years. I moved to Toronto from the quaint little town of Woodstock, NB, (pop. 5200) this past weekend.

During the Occupy movement last summer I felt disconnected. I heard and read numerous accounts of what was going on in all the major centres throughout the country, but I struggled to fully grasp the ideas or even the size of the movement.

What I did know was as the leaves began to change and the mercury slowly fell, there was no escape from the harsh Canadian winters. People backed up their tents, the media drifted away and no one seemed to care.

Today is being marked as the resurgence of the Occupy movement. Riding the coat tails of another international movement, International Workers Day or May Day (which is in support of migrant workers) the movement is hoping to let everyone know they’re back.

Now that I have a place to rest my head in the city, I believe I will be more connected, informed and potentially vocal about what is going on in our country. No longer will I feel trapped, isolated and disconnected in rural New Brunswick, because here in the big city, ideas and opinions can spread like wildfire and there are connections to be made.

So, in a few hours I will be heading down to my first protest to discover if this resurgence will truly take hold. For the sake of my blog (and the 99 percent) I hope it does…

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