Participants gather for the "Hands Off" rally in April 2025. Photo: Boreal Community Media

By Laura Durenberger-Grunow - Boreal Community Media - July 4, 2025

On July 5, 2025, a series of Elbows Up! rallies, celebrations, and protests are scheduled to take place along the US-Canada border. The goal of these rallies is to demonstrate solidarity and international friendship with Canada to both the Canadian and U.S. governments and the world. Local group Arrowhead Indivisible announced that it will participate in the rallies, planning to gather in Grand Portage before walking as a group to the US Customs Compound at 1:00 p.m. on July 5th. In a release, the group states its opposition to the tariffs issued by Trump, as well as the annexation of Canada as the 51st state, saying that these measures negatively impact families, communities, and businesses on both sides of the 5,525-mile shared border (the longest in the world). Echoing the statements of the Elbows Up! movement, Arrowhead Indivisible shares a commitment to de-escalation in potential confrontations and an overall goal of maintaining a peaceful event. 

The Elbows Up! movement gets its name from a defensive hockey move. It began in March 2025 after Canadian actor and comedian Mike Myers mouthed the words while raising his elbows during a Saturday Night Live performance.