The protests against prorogation could be the start of a new political awareness in this country.

When Stephen Harper suspended Parliament for the second time in 12 months, I was furious and disgusted. I knew many people who felt as I did, but it seemed that most Canadians were completely oblivious.

I spent most of my life in the U.S., where government responds only to the people who pay its way and the same corporate money owns both sides of the aisle. In Canada, MPs are responsive to their constituents to a degree that left me flabbergasted for a long time. Writing, calling, or meeting with MPs is so easy here – and it can actually make a difference. There’s a saying: “In the U.S., the people are afraid of the government. In Canada, the government is afraid of the people.” With the usual disclaimers for generalizations, it's true.

But to create change, you have to care. And it seemed that few did.

Seething with anger at Stephen Harper, and crushed by Canadians’ collective yawn, I pounded out a blog post about Canadian apathy.

Then everything changed.

Two university students started a Facebook group called Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament, and it became a place to channel our anger. Seeing their own opinions reflected by so many, people felt safe to raise their voices. Protests were planned, and then more protests were planned. The Conservative dismissals only egged us on. Within two weeks, 200,000 people had joined the group and events were being organized in more than 60 towns and cities. January 23, 2010 – two days before Parliament would have normally resumed – was dubbed Democracy Day.

On Saturday, Toronto’s Dundas Square, said to hold 7,500 people, was packed so tightly that police had to close off the surrounding sidewalks to contain the crowd that kept growing. In London, Ontario, 500 people protested, and in London, England, 50 expat Canadians gathered. From St John’s to Whitehorse, from the Canadian consulate in Dallas, Texas, to Stephen Harper’s office in Calgary, thousands of Canadians stood together, and stood up for democracy.

The following day, the Harper Faithful astroturfed the comments sections on every news story about the protests. Why do these people so desperately need to portray the protests as a failure? For that matter, why do they defend prorogation? Is it an irrational belief that if a Conservative does it, it must be good? A visceral hatred of anything connected with liberals or progressives? Perhaps a fear of democracy?

I truly have no idea, but I do know a successful protest when I see one, and last Saturday topped the charts. That success is measured in more than numbers.

Since becoming involved in activism in Canada, I’ve seen the same faces behind every movement. Peace, labour, the environment, reproductive rights, gay rights – you name it, it’s the same few driving the grassroots activism. Often dismissed with the pejorative “professional protestors,” they are people deeply committed to social change, and willing to dedicate their lives to that goal. So often, they seem to be the only people even trying.

Not this time. People attending organizing meetings all over the country said it was the first protest they had ever attended. As a friend of mine expressed in astonishment: “When I got there, Dundas Square was crowded, and I didn’t recognize a single person!” All day, seasoned activists repeated the same thing, in joy and disbelief: “I’ve never seen anything this big, happen this fast!” It came out of nowhere, bubbling up from the grassroots onto the streets.

But where is it going? Can it be sustained? A “second wave” of actions is already being planned, but if the Harper government continues to ignore the will of the people, will it build more anger? Or will learned helplessness set in, as it has in the U.S.?

Before the CAPP Facebook group took off, I wrote this:

When I heard Malalai Joya speak in Toronto, an Afghan-Canadian activist addressed the crowd. She was in Iran during the 2009 protests, and she contrasted the two communities. She said: "Here is a country where you can be killed for protesting, and not hundreds, not thousands, but *millions* of people took to the street to demand justice and democracy. Here in Canada, we are free, but we are also quiet."

I really felt those words.

I'm not romanticizing repressive regimes or oppressed indigenous cultures. I don't wish I lived in Iran. But here in North America, surrounded by an excessive consumer culture – by 140 different kinds of breakfast cereal and 75 kinds of potato chips, by big-screen TVs and iPhones – we are like helpless children to our government's parental authority. Powerful forces shape our lives according to their own interests, without any input from us or even a peep of protest.

For so many people I know, apathy isn't a strong enough word for their lack of political awareness. After their jobs and their families, their biggest concerns are sales at stores and paying less taxes. They're disengaged – just how the government wants them.

Now I teeter between hope and fear. I fear Saturday’s protest was a one-hit wonder. I hope I am wrong.