The “Freedom” Convoy

Now that some time has passed and half of us have gotten over the PTSD of being kept up every night for a month by random fireworks, assholes honking their horns 24/7 and random screams of “Freedom” in your face from breath that smelled of whisky and donuts; and the other half have completely forgotten whatever narrative it was they had been reading online that made them think their worlds were collapsing under the tightly fisted clench of a drama teacher named Justin I find I can think back on the Freedom Convoy and give it some thought.

I have to be honest, right up front. I was not a fan. Their mission was insane, their motives were internet horse crap and generally being around them was about as comfortable as flirting with a fella in an Alabama 1% biker bar while in drag.

So what was it?

A completely astroturfed social movement? Sure.

Canada’s Tea Party Moment (in that the only thing they accomplished was the destruction of the moderate Conservative wing of the party for a more radical right?) Sure. In fact, it was the deluxe version. The Tea Party took years to effect that change in America. They had the game down here.

An insane pain in the ass for a guy who both worked and lived downtown at the time? Absolutely.

For my money, there were four groups of people in the Convoy.

1. The actual truckers who thought they were trying to create change. Not all of them were sure of what change they were trying to create, but that’s okay. It was their jobs they thought were under threat and I had to agree with one fact more than any other: shutting down all the rest stations along the highways must have made 20 hours on the road pure torture.

2. A radical right wing blogosphere group that hijacked the movement to overthrow the sitting Government and maybe kick the crap out of the Prime Minister while they were at it? Yea. These guys were the cause of all the problems. Not a thing they were fighting for existed outside their internet fever dreams but, when in the bubble of gas, it’s hard not to get high and to look good to the people in the bubble with you.

3. The usful idiots who treated it as a kind of Winterlude meets Canada Day. A Family Outing! A thing for the kids! The city had been locked down for a long time. No Winterludes. No Canada Days. So a lot of people went out in daylight and treated the Convoy as some sort of spontaneous winter fair. All those quotes about it being Full of love and A great coalition of Canadian minds you heard on the evening news came from this group.

4. And the hundreds if not thousands of 18-29 year olds who realized the police weren’t doing shit about any of it and turned the downtown core of Ottawa into a month long outdoor party. Most of the property damage, fires, drunken disorderlies and general unpleseantness of the whole thing came from this group.

I can’t speak to anyone else’s experiences with the Freedom Convoy and I have no particular desire to get into the right and wrong of the movement or the message because that ground has been covered hundreds if not thousands of times. I can only speak to my own experiences; and they were not good. I dread to think what it would have been like if I weren’t six feet tall and two hundred and thirty pounds of Irish growls. I was male, white and had a beard. If I dressed in my usual street clothes I was greeted as a brother. If I wore my nice clothes… well… these are the photos I managed to take before some of the lovely Freedom loving folk destroyed one of my cameras and took some swings at me thinking I was a government narc or something.

If you hear horns in the back of your head, close the page. And sorry for the PTSD. To this day I still grind my teeth when I see a Canada flag on a pickup truck. Nothing personal if you’re patriotic but they did a really good job of subborning some of our symbols and making most of us who live in Ottawa really grow to hate our own flag.

And that’s fairly unforgiveable some say.

Handmade sign placed on the ground in front of a vehicle tire, with text saying 'Small fringe minority' my ASS, MANDATE FREEDOM, with red and black marker on white poster board.

People wait in line outside a Tim Hortons restaurant on a snowy evening, with a Canadian flag attached to a bicycle in the foreground.

Street scene with trucks, a rusty barrel, and a power pole in winter. The trucks include a green Mack, a yellow truck, and a white truck, with some signs and flags visible.

Protesters' trucks and flags, including American flags and flags with the word 'Freedom,' parked on a city street with historic buildings in the background.

A truck with a political message spray painted on its side that says, 'FUCK TRUDEAU,' with two maple leaf symbols.

Black and white photo of people walking on city street, some wearing vests and masks, near a truck with ladders and the word "Prestige" on it.

A line of orange and red gas cans on a crosswalk with a sign saying "On the right side of history" next to a truck.

Street scene with trucks and vehicles, signage indicating protests or demonstrations, city buildings in the background, and sparse snow on the ground.

A black semi-truck parked on a city street with snow on the ground, a woman in a gray coat and face mask standing next to it, and a billboard poster of a skateboarder attached to the back of the truck. Several pedestrians and a green vehicle are also visible nearby.

A street market scene with people shopping and socializing; a graffiti-covered trailer in the foreground with a red gasoline container and various items, and a blue truck in the background with a banner that says "FREEDOM".

A street scene with people walking, some wearing winter clothing, in front of a large truck with flags and a sign that reads 'FREED WEST LIBERTY'. The truck displays flags including the Quebec flag and others. Several vehicles are parked along the street, which appears to be cold and possibly snowy.

A firefighter instructs a driver at a busy street scene during winter, with snow on the ground and a crowd of pedestrians in winter clothing.

Protesters holding signs, including one that says "MISSING" and another that says "END ALL MANDATES." They are standing in front of a table with supplies and a variety of signs, including one with a Canadian flag. Some protesters are wearing winter clothing, and there are ice coolers and a van in the background.

A poster with the message 'Go Think Yourself' and a pink background, with a smaller text stating 'if you fly Nazi flags, you are not fighting for freedom,' attached to a metallic surface.

A homemade memorial on the sidewalk with a Canadian flag, a pink heart-shaped balloon labeled 'Bless', a sign with drawings of stick figures, and a message in French that says 'Thank you to the caregivers' with a date of January 2022.

Group of people walking through a snowy city street, carrying Canadian flags during daytime.

A snowy street scene with a police car, a white pickup truck, and several people, some holding flags and signs. The background features old stone buildings with gothic architecture and leafless trees.

A protest sign with messages condemning racism, intolerance, and hate, urging to stop spreading fear and hate, and advocating for tolerance and equality in the country.

A silver vehicle decorated with Canadian flags and a flag with a camouflage pattern, parked on a city street with bare trees and a building in the background.

Ottawa police car with two officers checking a scene behind the vehicle, with a fire truck with a Canadian flag and snowy weather in the background.

Two men shaking hands in front of food trucks, with a table and cooking supplies nearby. One is wearing a beanie and sunglasses, the other has a hood and a fur-lined jacket. There is a large trash can in the foreground and a sign on the truck reads 'FREEDOM LIBERTÉ'.

People standing on a snowy street, some wrapped in a Canadian flag, others in winter clothing, beside police car with flashing lights.

A red truck with a wooden panel on the back displaying the words "FREEDOM STAND UP" spray-painted in black. The truck has a black bar on top, surrounded by various flags, signs, and barriers, with a street scene in the background.

Two camping chairs, a small table with a drink, and a fire pit on snowy ground at night.

Street filled with parked cars, trucks, and people during winter, with traffic lights and buildings in the background.

Group of people holding Canadian flags standing outside in snowy weather, some wearing winter clothing and masks, near a building with graffiti on a utility box.

A blue camping chair next to a propane tank and a portable fire pit, with people wearing black and gray outdoor clothing gathering in the background.

Protest construction with banners and signs, including '#FREEDOMCONVOY2022' and 'FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE!', Canadian flags, and a poster of a person's face with dark hair, set against a Gothic-style stone building.

A snowy city street filled with parked trucks and cars, with a few pedestrians walking along the sidewalk and streetlights lining the road.

Protest truck with signs and flags supporting freedom, with messages including "Freedom Convoy 2022," "Take Back Freedom," and "No Lockdowns, Mandates, Passports." Canadian flags are displayed, and there is a sign indicating space for lease in the background.

A street scene with a large red truck, flags, a man leaning against the truck, and a no right turn traffic sign. Piles of snow are on the ground, and a person in a gray coat stands near the truck.

A political protest scene in front of a historic stone building with a Canadian flag, a crane, and several people holding signs. Vehicles are parked along the street, and safety barriers are in place.

A row of trucks and trailers on a city street, some with Canadian flags and American flags, alongside a trailer with the words 'LIVE LOVE LAUGH' written on it.

A red pickup truck with several flags, including a Canadian flag and black flags with white text that reads 'TRUDEAU'. A white truck with a mesh grill and a sign with words like 'Reckless' and 'Unreasoning' are visible in the background. The scene appears to be part of a protest or rally.

A group of people dressed in winter clothing gather around a street food stand on a snowy city street, with flags and trucks in the background.

Person holding Canadian and American flags during winter, with two other people walking nearby, snow on the ground and a decorative black metal fence in the background.

Signs in snow protesting for justice and police accountability. One sign says 'CEST ASSEZ' and another reads 'Uphold and Protect All God Given Rights'.