“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.
This story is from the February 11, 2022 edition of The Guardian Weekly.
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This story is from the February 11, 2022 edition of The Guardian Weekly.
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