Canadian trucker strike drivers#

It was not clear whether the attacker was part of the 'Freedom Convoy' protests. 'A local ice cream shop had a staff member assaulted and pushed to the ground because he was wearing a mask,' Huang said. Mary Huang, president of the community association in Centretown, one of the neighborhoods affected, says members are being abused and attacked for wearing masks. Last week, staff at a local homeless shelter were allegedly verbally abused by protesters who came to the shelter demanding to be served. Noise has also been a problem: Convoy protesters were blaring powerful air horns and sirens day and night over a week, preventing residents from sleeping, until a local court granted an injunction. Residents report the widespread use of fireworks, protesters blocking intersections and abandoning cars and trucks, illegally consuming alcohol on the streets, as well as using snowbanks as toilets. 'It could be irrational, but the threat felt very real.' Residents have reported harassment and intimidation by some protesters Image: Dave Chan/AFP Residents on edge 'I started to feel really scared, because there's no security at the school clinics, anyone can just walk in.' 'Here I am, on the school clinic team, whose goal it is to get children and their families vaccinated,' she said. When Lyle saw videos of prominent Canadian QAnon figure Romana Didulo - who has called for the execution of anyone helping vaccinate children - at the protest not far from her home burning Canadian flags, she became especially anxious. 'I'm asking myself: Can we go outside? What's going to happen?'īut for Lyle, even being inside doesn't feel safe: Protesters have been gathering near her home, and one day she found her building's lock had been tampered with. She says she's afraid to leave the house for fear of harassment. Lyle lives with her family in downtown Ottawa and works at a vaccination clinic at a school. Natalie Lyle said she hasn't felt safe since the convoy arrived. Residents are calling for more action from Canadian authorities as protests near the two-week mark Image: Lars Hagberg/REUTERS Fears for safety 'A great deal of that was anonymous and clearly funded by American far-right actors,' says David Hofmann, an associate sociology professor at the University of New Brunswick who studies far-right groups.Īs well, social media accounts are used to 'feed far-right echo chambers, to make people think that the far-right elements of the truckers' convoy are more numerous and louder than they actually are,' said Hofmann. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau dismissed those protesters as a 'small fringe minority.'īut experts say there are 'overt links' between the trucker convoy protest and an international coalition of far-right extremism.Ī GoFundMe campaign for the convoy raised $7.6 million (€6.65 million) before it was shut down (and the donations refunded). Some protesters have been seen wearing Nazi symbols and waving racist flags. Protesters distribute fuel to truckers occupying Ottawa's city center, who have come from all over the country Image: Patrick Doyle/The Canadian Press via AP/picture alliance Far-right links Hundreds of cars and trucks joined the convoy as it traveled across Canada, arriving in Ottawa on January 28. Though over 80% of Canadians are vaccinated, and polls show that a broad majority of Canadians support COVID-19 measures, that support has been slipping in recent weeks. Some of the convoy's organizers - prominent far-right figures - have espoused Islamophobic or white nationalist rhetoric in the past. The truckers' convoy quickly morphed into a broader crusade against pandemic restrictions and other far-right grievances.

While roughly 90% of cross-border truckers are vaccinated, there is a small minority who fear losing their jobs or livelihoods over their unvaccinated status.

Canadian trucker strike drivers#

The 'Freedom Convoy' originated late January in response to new coronavirus vaccine mandates for cross-border truck drivers imposed by Canada and the US.