After calling people opposed to vaccine mandates a “small fringe minority,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was whisked away with his family from his home in Ottawa to a safe house as tens of thousands of demonstrators flooded the capital’s streets in a massive protest.
The estimated number of protesters varied according to different media, ranging from 20,000 to 50,00.
The truckers were participating in a world-record, 45-mile-long “Freedom convoy,” expressing their displeasure with Trudeau’s vaccine mandate, which would force them to get jabbed or lose their livelihoods.
Hundreds of big rigs were seen parked in front of Canada’s parliament building and other government institutions.
One trucker, Tom Pappin, told the Toronto Sun that he and his fellow protesters would not move their vehicles until the mandate is lifted.
“I’m locked into my own country right now,’ he said. “I can’t go on a holiday. I can’t go to a restaurant, I can’t go bowling. I can’t go to a movie. You know, these are things that it’s just gotten out of control.”
The truckers were joined by tens of thousands of other Canadians, holding signs calling for freedom and criticizing Trudeau.
“The vaccination requirements are taking us toward a new society we never voted for,” businessman Philippe Castonguay told the Toronto Sun.
Others expressed fear that a digital COVID passport system would usher in a social credit system similar to that seen in China, in which basic rights – such as purchasing a train ticket for domestic travel – could be taken away based on a government-administered persona score for citizens.
The protesters received support from Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who tweeted to his millions of followers that “Canadian truckers rule.”
In a follow-up tweet, he said that “if you scare people enough, they demand the removal of freedom. This is the path to tyranny.”
Trudeau’s current location is not being made available to the public due to security concerns, as critics of the protest say the atmosphere is similar to the January 2021 Capitol Hill riots.
However, the organizers have said the demonstration is an act of peaceful protest. As of Sunday morning, there were no reports of arrests, violence, or property damage.