The protesters say they back the Wet’suwet’en indigenous people of British Columbia in their campaign against the C$6.6 billion ($4.98 billion) Coastal GasLink project. Some aboriginal bands claim the right to veto projects on their territory, a stance rejected by a Canadian court earlier this month.

“Reconciliation doesn’t mean allowing a couple of people to shut down the national economy,” Alberta Premier Jason Kenney told reporters.