Corporate Media is Hating On Convoy Supporters For Unifying Canadians

This past week has been crazy for Canadian politics and news. 

Safe to say, the hottest and most controversial topic has been the convoy of Canadian truckers descending on Ottawa. And wow—what a movement. 

Rewind to November 2021, when the Canadian government announced that essential workers would need to be fully vaccinated to cross the USA/Canada border come January 2022. After the announcement, groups of concerned Canadians started to mobilize. 

Thus, the idea of several truck drivers driving to Ottawa, the birthplace of these mandates, came to life. Fondly referred to by supporters as the Freedom Convoy 2022.

Originally, the convoy’s purpose was to strike down the vaccine mandate for truckers. However, as the truckers rolled eastward, the group’s intentions shifted. From ending vaccine mandates for truckers—to ending all COVID-19 measures and mandates for all Canadians.

This looks to be accomplished by trucks parking in Ottawa until mandates are lifted, so that looks to be an indefinite amount of time.

While 90% of truckers in the industry are vaccinated, it’s no secret that there is a sense of camaraderie amongst truckers. So, while some of the truckers in attendance may be unvaccinated—they have their vaccinated trucking family right there with them.

Support seems to have been overwhelming, on a national and global scale. Hashtags such as #TruckersConvoy #FreedomConvoy2022 have heavily circulated social media, and countless photos and videos are being shared. People are talking about the convoy on local, national, and international news and social media platforms.

Monetary support has also been an awe-inspiring part of FC2022. In the last 2 ½ weeks, the GoFundMe has amassed over 9.7 million dollars in donations and counting. The GoFundMe’s about page says that the funds will be used to reimburse them for gas and provide truckers with food and lodging.

What also started as just a few trucks driving to the nation’s capital, has developed into a call for anyone who has been impacted by these mandates to come down and support the truckers.

Worldwide, Canada’s truckers are inspiring their brothers in the industry to start convoys as well. In Australia, Europe, and the United States of America; trucks are revving up their engines. Perhaps there will be more countries to add to this list soon.

However, as these voices get louder: as does the voice of dissent from the other side. 

Controversy regarding some of the key protest organizers has arisen, accusing them of having racist and white nationalist views. Of course, outside of affiliations with more right-leaning groups, it’s been a struggle to find any concrete evidence where organizers are saying, sharing, or propagating anything that would constitute “hate speech” as defined within the Canadian Human Rights Act.

Regardless of this, on basis of affiliation; the media, influencers on social media, and government officials have been quick to denounce the efforts of truckers, supporters, and convoy organizers. Those in attendance and support are now being touted as white supremacists, racists, and antisemitic.

It’s entirely possible that evidence could surface to support these claims, but it’s apparent by now that participants and supporters of this movement are in this to attempt to restore some semblance of normalcy to Canadian life. Not for selfish reasons, not to divide Canadians, and not to spread hate and violence.

The legacy media would like the public to think that is the reason for the convoy and protest is based on some sort of extremism or bigotry in order to prevent Canadians from genuinely engaging with the issues the demonstrators are trying to bring attention to.

To add fuel to the fire, there have been sightings of a few people with Confederate and Nazi flags. Attendees to the protest have reported that these people were not made to feel welcome in the crowd, and were shamed for bringing their negative publicity to a peaceful gathering.

That being said, out of all the people who arrived in Ottawa this past weekend, choosing to fixate on the provocateurs as opposed to amplifying the many diverse faces in the crowd is extremely disappointing. Because, truth be told; Canada isn’t about the hate or extremism, but the love for differences that make Canadians so unified.

During the trek East, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took to the news to condemn this group, calling them a “small fringe minority” that holds “unacceptable views”. Apparently, the group is expressing views that does not represent the views of Canadian citizens. Contrary to this opinion, a survey by the Angus Reid Institute released on January 31st, 2022 suggests otherwise. A whopping 54% of Canadians support the end of COVID-19 restrictions…so one could argue that the tide is turning in regards to those who hold “unacceptable views”

To combat the claims of racism and white nationalism, there’s been a countermovement by people of colour supporting the Freedom Convoy. This group (@poc4freedomconvoy on Instagram) seeks to amplify and shed light on people of colour who support this movement and feel alienated by the mainstream media.

After checking out this account, one would have to argue that the diversity of supporters of this movement completely nullifies the argument.

There are many faces of the supporters of this movement. People of all races, creeds, and belief systems are coming together through this movement. Sure, pictures may show a heavily white audience, but it’s important to remember that the percentage of the population that visual minorities make up in many of the provinces, especially out West, is quite low.

The purpose of this movement has nothing to do with promoting extremism, uniting white nationalists, or inciting violence. Rather, to unify Canadians and take the government to task over the last 2 years of restrictions that greatly affected the lives of everyone that wasn’t a government official, elite, or public health worker. 

Whether or not you agree with what’s happening in Ottawa–in this age of misinformation on all sides; take pride in doing your own research.