VANCOUVER — Critics of a mass yoga session that would have shut down a Vancouver bridge are feeling a little more centred after British Columbia’s premier cancelled the controversial event.

Christy Clark announced Friday that Om the Bridge will not take place on June 21.

“Unfortunately, the focus of the proposed Burrard Street Bridge event has drifted towards politics, getting in the way of the spirit of community and inner reflection,” Clark said in a statement. “It was for that reason I decided not to participate.”

Clark initially said Yoga Day is celebrated worldwide by millions of people and is sanctioned by the United Nations. But opponents of the plan said she should have focused on aboriginal issues because June 21 is also national Aboriginal Day.

“On the face of it, I found Premier Clark’s idea to host an international yoga event on the Burrard Street Bridge to be completely flakey,” said Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, head of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs. “But at the same time, I also felt it was a blatant political opportunism.”

Phillip said he was particularly concerned about Clark’s decision to promote International Yoga Day over national Aboriginal Day because of the recent release of a report by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which called on Canadians to change their relationship with First Nations.

Opposition NDP Leader John Horgan said that while Clark has said she didn’t want to mix yoga and politics, she did just that.

“Where this event went sideways was that it was an expense of public dollars that seemed wasteful,” Horgan said. “Millionaires get tax breaks and the premier shuts down a road so she can have a yoga class. I think that offended people.”

Closing the bridge was expected to cost $150,000, the government said.

Children’s entertainer Raffi, who created the #ShunTheBridge hashtag to voice his criticism, tweeted that the money should now be spent on education, “where it’s needed.”

Before cancelling the event, Clark tweeted that she would not be participating, prompting retailer Lululemon and YYoga, a chain of yoga studios, to pull their sponsorships.

Both companies said in separate statements that their intentions were pure but they had heard disappointment and frustration from the community.

“We hoped that our intentions would shine through but that has not been the case,” YYoga founder Terry McBride said.

He said the company is working on holding an event in a park to “reflect the tradition of yoga and the wishes of our community.”

Lululemon spokeswoman Jill Batie said the company is “taking a deep cleansing breath and over the next several days,” and wants to hold a celebration “that honours the spirit and tradition of yoga and serves our communities in a more meaningful way.”

Before the event was officially cancelled, AltaGas spokesman John Lowe said the company also planned to pull its $10,000 sponsorship.

– With files from Dirk Meissner in Victoria