Nearly five months after they were forced to leave Ottawa, protesters from the Freedom Convoy are returning to the capital this weekend, where, along with a more determined police presence, they will face questions about where the movement is heading.
As many of the leaders who appeared during the winter occupation, either in prison or on bail, the current direction of the movement is unclear.
The issue that unites the various groups in the first place – the opposition to vaccine mandates – has lost its appeal after federal and provincial governments repealed most public health measures.
In the absence of clear leadership, the groups resort to pursuing their various pet causes, from Alberta independence to fictitious legal concepts such as constitutional sheriffs.
Meanwhile, around them a large number of heroes are fighting for influence on various social media channels popular within the movement.
As many of the leaders who appeared during the winter occupation, either in prison or under bail, the current direction of the freedom convoy is unclear. (Patrick Doyle / Reuters)
In videos posted on Facebook, TikTok and other platforms, figures with many followers have exchanged accusations that they were supporters, fled Ottawa before the arrests or were government agents.
Conspiracy theories, radical anti-government rhetoric, and homophobic and transphobic insults remain common in online convoy discussion forums, limiting the movement’s mass appeal.
The protests over the weekend for Canada Day in Ottawa, along with smaller gatherings planned in Mirror, Alta, Salmo, British Columbia and Winnipeg, therefore come at a critical time for the movement. Several groups see this as a chance to design a more unified, moderate image.
“Let’s show Ottawa that we are respectable Canadians,” Amanda Haveman, organizer of Freedom Central Canada, one of Facebook’s largest convoy groups, said in a video message earlier this week.
“We just want our voices to be heard and we want Canada to get back to the way it was.”
As part of the rebranding effort, Haveman instructed more than 100,000 followers of his Facebook group to avoid lifting the maple leaf upside down and avoid waving F-k Trudeau flags, two symbols that were noticeable in previous protests by convoys.
The Conservative leader is fine with MPs attending freedom events
The convoy’s events planned this weekend include a march to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Thursday, a march to Parliament Hill on Friday and a pancake breakfast on Saturday – each host from a different group.
Ottawa police have said they will not tolerate any attempts at prolonged occupation and bans on vehicles entering the area around Parliament Hill.
The zero-tolerance policy was apparent on Wednesday when bylaws announced they had issued 154 tickets and towed 44 vehicles as part of the city’s implementation plan.
However, in the minds of some supporters of the convoy, the police strategy is part of an attempt to incite the movement to violence.
“They want you to be the people they accuse you of. They want you to be terrorists,” said the anonymous host of Live From the Shed, a webcast dedicated to the movement of the convoy.
In a recent interview with CTV, interim Conservative leader Candice Bergen said her group was welcome to attend the convoy protests this summer, rejecting claims that the occupation of Ottawa was an attempt to overthrow the government. Federal Conservative candidate Pierre Poalievre appeared on Thursday in a march with veteran James Top
Several groups see the Canada Day weekend as an opportunity to create a more unified, moderate image and are asking their supporters not to turn the Canadian flag upside down or to wave “f – k Trudeau” messages. (Blair Gable / Reuters)
Such appearances concern Ahmed Al-Rawi, an assistant professor at Simon Fraser University who studies online extremist movements.
“We have seen in the past many members of this movement show some kind of violence and harass others… it would be like trusting these people,” Al-Rawi said.
Within the movement, the civil opposition often coexists with extremist claims and actions that are outside democratic norms, let alone the law.
A judge recently told CBC / Radio-Canada that he had received insulting messages from supporters of the convoy, including a threat that provoked a police reaction after he chaired hearings involving the movement’s leaders.
“It’s intimidation,” the judge said. “He’s trying to influence a court decision and that’s serious.”
This month, two pro-convoy groups encouraged members to contact municipal libraries to protest the “Pulling History Hour,” events in which a drag artist reads books with LGBTQ-positive messages to children.
At least seven libraries say they have received a wave of hateful comments and threats via email, phone and Facebook.
According to one expert, the movement, in the absence of clear leadership, makes it difficult to deal with law enforcement. (Jennifer Gauthier / Reuters)
In their messages to their supporters, influential convoy figures are often ambivalent about their commitment to the democratic process.
“[Prime Minister Justin Trudeau] must be imprisoned for treason. RCMP, police officers – they need to arrest politicians for the crimes they are committing against their people, “Ron Clark told his 128,000 followers on Facebook in a video this week.
Clark, who drives around central Canada attending various convoy rallies, also objected in his video to “transgender nonsense” in schools and accused chemtrails of causing natural disasters in British Columbia (based on a conspiracy theory that supports release of reactive gases contains chemicals that control the weather).
Traffic at a crossroads
Although there may be people in the movement who pose risks to national security because of their violent ideologies, the movement itself is best treated as a public order issue, said Stephanie Carvin, a professor of international affairs at Carlton University and a former national security analyst. .
But, she added, the movement in its current form is difficult to deal with law enforcement.
“I think one of the challenges for the police right now is that there are no leaders. There is no single leader. There are different movements. There is a jockey. There are struggles, “Carvin said.
Currently, some anti-mandate groups are trying to unite around the least polarizing figures of the movement, rather than around specific issues.
Among the most popular are Tamara Leach, a key organizer during the winter occupation, who was recently arrested again on charges of violating her bail conditions, and Toppwhose nationwide march against a mandate culminated Thursday in Ottawa.
Tamara Leach, a key organizer of the convoy’s winter occupation of Ottawa, was recently arrested again on charges of violating her bail conditions. (Adrian Wilde / Canadian Press)
But the future of the convoy movement probably depends on its various groups, which find new complaints beyond their opposition to vaccine mandates and decide what relationship it wants to have with democratic institutions.
Shado Davis, whose webcast mixes conspiracy theories and right-wing politics and is popular in the convoy movement, told his listeners this week to start running for school and municipal council elections. The anti-mandate group Stand4thee recently held an online information session for ambitious candidates.
So far, however, supporters of the convoy have had little success in the ballot box.
Jason Lafayette, organizer of a convoy from Sudbury, Ont., Is running in the recent provincial election. He received 1.2 percent of the vote.
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