What began as an intention by organizers to protest the federal government’s vaccine mandate for truck drivers quickly turned into something else.
Launched from the west coast, many in the protest intended it as a legitimate attempt to end the federal vaccine mandate for cross-border travel.
But as it travelled closer to Ottawa, it drew in crowds of conspiracy theorists, alt-right wingers, anti-vaxxers, anti-immigration, anti-anything has converged with the truckers.
The protest – commonly referred to as the freedom rally or Operation Bear Hug 2.0, but with more swastika flags than your average rally – has created offshoots, disrupting many areas of Canada.
The border crossing at Coutts in southern Alberta has been ongoing for several days.
Closer to home, a planned blockade to gridlock the Trans-Canada Highway was meant to run between Canmore and the gates to Banff National Park Wednesday (Feb. 2) but was cancelled.
Though it didn’t run locally – yet – several others have and will take place from coast-to-coast.
While many have voiced displeasure, consternation and frustration, the right to protest is undeniable to citizens and residents in Canada.
It doesn’t mean it’s right.
Protests are nothing new in our history, particularly in times of crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the First and Second World Wars, the anti-conscription riots in Quebec often turned violent, though much more so in 1917. The Second World War saw numerous labour disruptions and strikes.
However, the people associated with them are what differentiates them from others.
Though there is no doubt some involved are pro-vaccination and just against the mandate to cross the border, the Ottawa showing has seen more alt-right movements be involved.
Canada Unity, an anti-vaccine organization that has come to be at the centre of the protest, issued a memorandum of understanding calling on “People of Canada”, demanding the Senate and Governor General of Canada to enforce the laws laid out in the memorandum or resign.
Some Conservative MPs joining support like Pierre Poilievre and Andrew Scheer, desperate to cling on to any measure of relevance they may have once had, have flocked to support the protests.
From Ottawa homeless shelter staff being harassed and the Terry Fox statue being appropriated for the protest, the original intent has taken a hard turn.
In Alberta, Premier Jason Kenney fanned the flames by tweeting photos of empty grocery shelves as proof of significant supply chain issues because of the mandate, though many replied with photos of full shelves.
The Canadian Trucking Alliance and the American Trucking Association estimate as many as 26,000 of the 160,000 drivers regularly crossing the Canadian and American border are unable to do so because of the mandate. The American government also has a similar mandate for any foreign traveller entering the United States to be vaccinated.
Federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said the first week the mandate was in effect, roughly 100,000 trucks crossed the border, which is about average.
Premier Scott Moe of Saskatchewan – who publicly gave support to the protest – declared its vaccine passport is likely to be gone as early as the end of February. Kenney hopes to do the same for Alberta.
On the other side, the media must have a responsibility in how it covers and reports such protests. There’s no doubt media companies enjoyed the clicks that came from any article mentioning the protest, but any level of reporting has to serve the public interest.
At a certain point, using an all-hands-on-deck and full-court press mentality to cover the protest has surpassed a level of public interest.
The protests will eventually teeter out and will not see the border mandate – the original intent – disappear.
But what it does do is continue to give voice to elements of our society that are better left unheard.
