Canadian authorities moved to end a protest convoy of trucks and other vehicles that had been blocking a major U.S. border crossing in Coutts, Alberta, since Saturday.
The protest was taking place at one of the busiest ports of entry on the Canada–United States border, and it was part of a larger Canadian protest against vaccine mandates and other COVID-19 restrictions.
While truckers in Western Canada blocked traffic on the stretch of Highway 4 to Interstate 15, an important trade route between Alberta and American states along I-15, other truckers descended on Ottawa, Ontario over the weekend, deliberately blocking traffic around Parliament Hill.
Organizers, including one who has espoused white supremacist views, had raised millions for the cross-country “freedom truck convoy” against vaccine mandates. It attracted support from former U.S. President Donald Trump and Tesla billionaire Elon Musk.
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In the aftermath of Canada's biggest pandemic protest to date, the demonstrators have found little sympathy in a country where more than 80% are vaccinated.
Many people were outraged by some of the crude behavior that has been reported in Ottawa.
Many of the demonstrators refused to wear masks in hotels, malls and grocery stores. One homeless shelter reported protesters had demanded it feed them.
Some urinated and parked on the National War Memorial. One danced on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
A number carried signs and flags with swastikas.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the Ottawa protesters a “fringe minority" and said they reflected the proliferation of "disinformation and misinformation online, conspiracy theorists, about microchips, about God knows what else that go with the tinfoil hats.”