1 of 2 pro-pipeline convoys to Ottawa cancelled, leaving just yellow vests rolling ahead

One of two duelling pro-pipeline convoys that had planned to head from Alberta to Ottawa next month has been cancelled.

Canada Action, a federally registered non-profit that promotes the oilsands and natural resource sector, was scheduled to leave along with other pro-oil groupsfrom B.C. on Feb. 13and depart Calgary and Red Deer, Alta., the next day.

Their convoy was then supposed to head along the Trans-Canada Highway to bringthe province's pipeline plight straight to lawmakers,who protesters say have ignored their concerns.

The group had raised more than $25,000 for the trip, but it announced Monday on the convoy's crowdfunding site that it was "no longer viable" for organizers to proceed.

"We cannot confidently mitigate the unexpected challenges associated with this event. As such, we will be issuing full refunds to all of our donors," the update posted by the group Rally 4 Resources reads, one of the organizations behind the planned convoy.

The update doesn't say how much was raised in total, just that the convoy isno longer accepting donations.

The convoy was set to leave the same day, and along the same route, as one organized by the yellow vest protest movement.

Canada Action's founder Cody Battershill told CBC News last week that he wanted to make it clear his group has no affilliation with the yellow vests.

"We want to make sure that people express themselves in a way that's of course positive and respectful," Battershill said.

The yellow vest movement in Canada has targeted a wide swath of grievances from the Trudeau government, to carbon tax to immigration. Politicians and other protest groupshave distanced themselves from yellow vest protests in Alberta, which have welcomed attendees like members of the anti-immigration group Soldiers of Odin.

The yellow vest convoy still appears to be going ahead as planned, with more than $100,000 collected between two fundraisers as of Monday.

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