Will the Occupy movement survive without its camps?

A protester sits in her tent at St. James park, a makeshift tent community and headquarters for the Occupy Toronto movement, in mid-October. (Mark Blinch/Reuters)

Updated Nov. 7: Occupy protesters in Vancouver and Victoria are refusing to comply with demands by city officials to take down their tents.

Vancouver city manager Penny Ballem said the city will begin taking legal steps on Monday morning to remove the protesters.

Occupy organizers have said they will hold a rally on Monday afternoon.

Originally posted Nov. 4: City officials are moving in on Occupy protesters across Canada, hoping to tear down the tent cities that have come to symbolize the multifaceted resistance movement.
 
Quebec City officials have started removing items from the encampment at Place de l'Université-du-Québec. The Vancouver fire chief has ordered protesters to whittle down their presence by Friday morning. The Occupy Calgary protesters on St. Patrick's Island, most of them homeless, have agreed to vacate their site by Monday in return for a promise of permanent housing.
 
But as some leave or close their sites, others gather winter supplies and hunker down.
 
The Occupy Calgary protesters in Olympic Plaza downtown, comprised largely of students, balked at the deal made by the St. Patrick's Island faction. Like demonstrators in other cities, many vowed to hold their ground even if police intervene. Some sites, like those in Vancouver and Toronto, have erected community-style infrastructure like portable toilets and libraries.

But even sympathetic mayors like Calgary's Naheed Nenshi said the campsites cannot stay up indefinitely.

"I would much rather come to a conclusion that respects everyone's rights rather than the strong arm of enforcement," he said. "That said, the city certainly has the strong arm of enforcement and if we have to use it, we will."

What do you think is next for the Occupy movements? Do you predict a violent crackdown, like the one in Oakland, on the more defiant Canadian groups? Will the momentum die down without physical fortresses?



(This survey is not scientific. Results are based on readers' responses.)