The Covid culture wars

It began as a protest against vaccine mandates – but does Ottawa’s truck driver blockade signal the birth of a dangerous new political movement?

- Leyland Cecco TORONTO Amru Salahuddien and Tracey Lindeman OTTAWA

For around a week, Paul Aubue had been living and sleeping in the cab of his truck, parked in downtown Ottawa. The 64-year-old grandfather travelled from New Brunswick to join hundreds of others as they descended on the Canadian capital. Aubue, the owner of a trucking company, said he’d been driven to protest by a recent requirement that truckers crossing from the US into Canada be vaccinated against Covid.

“I’m here for freedom. This whole thing has been going on for two years and it seems every day there’s something more. We don’t need a vaccine passport,” he said, adding that family had dissuaded him from getting vaccinated. “People die every day, people born every day – that’s nature.”

The vast majority of truckers – and Canadians – are vaccinated against the coronavirus, however. And most Canadians also say they’re against the sustained protests that have paralysed central Ottawa.

But as tensions rise between protesters and local officials, analysts say the recent events could signal the birth of a growing populist movement that could reshape Canadian politics.

Thousands of protesters opposed to Covid-19 restrictions descended on Ottawa again last weekend, joining a hundred who remained since the week before. Police described the protest as a “siege” on the city, where hundreds of trucks and cars have blockaded the downtown areas. Last Sunday, the mayor, Jim Watson, warned that officials were “losing this battle”, and a civil class-action lawsuit was filed against protesters over the incessant horn blasting and disruption.