'People are fed up': convoy of trucks converges on Ottawa as police prepare for thousands on Parliament Hill
A convoy of hundreds of fed-up Canadian truckers are driving cross-country, heading for the nation’s capital to deliver a message that's raising millions of dollars from donors around the world.
The ‘Freedom Convoy 2022’ movement is pushing for an end to a cross border vaccine mandate implemented by both the federal government and the U.S. administration.
Organizers say it is also calling for the end of all mandates for the vaccine.
“This is about mandating freedom,” said organizer Tamara Lich in a Facebook video.
“This is about making sure our children and our grandchildren live in a free country.”
A crowd-funding campaign has raised nearly $6 million in funds from around the globe, with close to $1 million being raised daily.
‘Families for Choice,’ a Calgary-based group advocating for families to choose whether to vaccinate their children or not contributed $3,000 to the event.
“We’re two years into this thing, and people are fed up,” said co-founder Cathryn Carruthers.
“They (the truckers) are representing all of us they are giving us a voice and they are taking direct action, something tangible that everybody can get behind, (and) we were absolutely thrilled to get behind that.”
The group started with five mothers in October 2021, with its membership exploding to more than 20,000 families since.
A crowd-funding campaign has raised nearly $6 million in funds from around the globe, with close to $1 million being raised daily.
EROSION OF TRUST
One political scientist says this protest has become bigger than just an anti-vaccine mandate for truckers.
“I do think this is like a prairie fire,” said Christopher Adams.
“When people feel left out of the national arrangement of power we do see uprising.”
The convoy rolled through Manitoba on Tuesday, with the group making its way into Ontario on Wednesday.
Adams believes there has also been an erosion of trust with political leaders, spurring many into action.
“(It’s) an anti-Justin Trudeau government movement,” he said.
“I would be very surprised if one percent of the people part of this convoy or those coming to see the convoy, vote Liberal at all in federal elections.”
Prime Minister Trudeau commented on the convoy Wednesday afternoon, describing them as a "fringe minority."
"The small fringe minority of people who are on their way to Ottawa are holding unacceptable views that they're expressing do not represent the views of Canadians," Trudeau said, "who have been there for each other who know that following the science, stepping up to protect each other is the best way to continue to ensure our freedoms, our rights,our values as a country."
OTTAWA PREPARES
Ottawa Police Service spoke with city council on Wednesday saying it is preparing security and surveillance plans for the convoy’s ultimate arrival this weekend.
“Our interactions with freedom rally organizers indicate that this will be a significant extremely fluid event that could go on for a prolonged period,” said Inspector Trish Ferguson.
The police chief said the department has already come under siege from counter protesters.
“I can tell you that within the last 24 hours, the Ottawa Police Service received a direct threat from a counter protest source, to the safety of our officers and to the facilities in which our civilian members and officers work in,” said Chief Peter Sloly.
The protest has garnered international attention, with former President Donald Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr. calling the movement ‘genius.’
“When we push back against the insanity, we can win,” he said to nearly five million Facebook followers.
Ottawa Police said early Wednesday afternoon that they expect to see about 1,000-2,000 people on the ground during the day Saturday, but expected that number to change by the end of the day, with a more firm estimate known on Thursday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.