The Canadian truckers’ “freedom convoy” to Ottawa has the markings of another protest at a nation’s capital.
On Jan. 6, 2021, people from across the United States staged a protest in Washington, D.C., that quickly turned into a violent siege of the Capitol building. They were angry over what they falsely viewed as an election “stolen” from outgoing president Donald Trump.
The Canadian protesters seem to be emulating some of the behaviour of their U.S. counterparts, desecrating public monuments and bullying homeless shelters into feeding them. The Rideau shopping centre has been forced to close due to protesters refusing to wear face masks inside.
Some have flown the Confederate flag and the swastika, symbols of hate and white supremacy that were also seen at the U.S. raid of the Capitol. Journalists have been shoved, spit on and accosted along the convoy’s path.
Trump has nothing directly to do with Canadian truck drivers and their supporters who oppose government vaccine mandates. However his angry rhetoric of being victimized by an untrustworthy elite is similar to the sentiments fuelling the grievances of Canada’s protesters.
Trump even endorsed the convoy participants as “doing more to defend American freedom than our own leaders.”
Responses from Canadian leaders
Canadian leaders, on the other hand, took diametrically different positions as the convoy made its weeklong journey from British Columbia to Ottawa.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau labelled the convoy a “small fringe minority of people … holding unacceptable views [that] do not represent the views of Canadians.” For the most part, he remained quiet as the convoy travelled across the country, and was moved to a safe, undisclosed location as the protesters arrived in Ottawa.
Erin O'Toole, leader the Conservative Party who was just voted out of his job, saw the convoy as an opportunity to burnish his credentials as a leader who listens and cares. He apparently wants to tap into the anger that the protesters have over vaccine mandates.
O'Toole seemingly believes that resentment over pandemic lockdown measures — most of them implemented at the provincial level and now in place for almost two years — is wider and deeper than generally realized.
Tapping into a sentiment that extends beyond the few thousand protesters, or even beyond the unvaccinated, allows him to differentiate himself from the Liberals. Tellingly, he referred to truckers as “our neighbours, our family, and most importantly, they are our fellow Canadians.”
By meeting with some of the truckers, O'Toole is now associated with the convoy and its messages. Given the fact that the vast majority of Canadians are vaccinated and are largely in favour of vaccine mandates, this is a gamble for a politician seeking to become the next prime minister.
This is WAY bigger than Trump. The gilets jaunes are EVERYWHERE now. And they're going to shut the world down like another Covid variant vaccine mandate. :)
ReplyDelete...but without any home grocery and restaurant deliveries.
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