A Canadian truckers’ convoy organizer has raised more than $4.3 million in the past 12 days to support a grassroots cross-country caravan of drivers protesting vaccine mandates. The Freedom Convoy 2022 is now rolling across Canada in a week-long trek from British Colombia to Ottawa, the country’s capital, where they are due to arrive Saturday, January 29. Among other demands, participants want the government of Canada to lift the onerous cross-border mandate that requires unvaccinated truckers to test and quarantine for 14 days after returning from the United States.
Event organizer Tamara Lich launched the GoFundMe campaign on January 14. “Our current government is implementing rules and mandates that are destroying the foundation of our businesses, industries and livelihoods,” she wrote. “We are taking our fight to the doorsteps of our Federal Government and demanding that they cease all mandates against its people.” She specified that money raised would help truckers with costs of food, fuel, and lodging during their journey.
Truckers embarked from Vancouver on Sunday, in a blast of horns, flashing lights, and flying flags. Local media reported that more than 1,000 supporters gathered to cheer the procession’s launch. Throngs of supporters are showing up along the way to line highways and overpasses, waving flags and signs of encouragement.
CTV News reported rallies in Calgary and Medicine Hat on Monday, with Tuesday’s major rendezvous points planned in Regina, Brandon, Winnipeg, and Kenora, spanning the provinces of Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario.
Canadian journalist Wayne Peters told Wendy Bell Radio that the group estimates up to 180,000 vehicles and “more than half a million people” will be “descending on Ottawa” next weekend. “They are going to put that city under siege until the mandates are lifted and this sock puppet [Prime Minister Justin Trudeau] resigns,” Peters said. He told Bell that Trudeau has publicly labeled convoy participants as “radical terrorists,” despite the fact that organizers have been in collaborative communication with authorities as they pass through areas, in order to mitigate local traffic issues. “The organizers of the convoy have been cooperative, accepting the recommended change,” reports the Regina Police Service in a statement regarding their request for the trucks to divert from their planned route and avoid causing congestion in the city.
The outpouring of financial support for Freedom Convoy 2022 includes donations from no major corporations. More than 57,000 individual donors have given amounts ranging from $10 to the top contribution of $11,000 from MGV Concrete Finishing in Ontario, Canada.
Grassroots groups participating in support of the effort include Police on Guard, the Forum for Canadian Sovereignty, Rise Up Durham, Families for Choice, Taking Back our Freedoms, Vaccine Choice Canada, Take Action Kamloops, Hold Fast, StandUp YGK, Truckers United Inc., Ottawa Freedom Collective, Stand Up Canada, Citizens for Unity, Common Law Education and Rights, Strong and Free Canada, Freedom Alliance Saskatchewan, Action 4 Canada, No Retreat No Surrender, the Mama Bears Project and Canadian Frontline Nurses.
Major media largely ignore the convoy, though Lich is enduring criticism that implies mismanagement of donated funds. “An email address set up to transfer money to the convoy appears to direct deposit to an account in Lich’s name,” reports CTV News. “She did not respond to interview requests.”
The news outlet failed to mention the fact that GoFundMe has strict guidelines regarding fundraising guarantees. “In order for your generous donations to flow smoothly, the good people at Go Fund Me will be sending donations directly to our bulk fuel supplier” and to truckers who must submit receipts and proof of participation to the Freedom Convoy finance committee for reimbursement, says Lich. “Any left over donations will be donated to a credible Veterans organization which will be chosen by the donors.”
Regardless, her efforts are meeting pushback from industry leaders. “The Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) does not support and strongly disapproves of any protests on public roadways, highways and bridges,” reads its statement published one day in advance of the Vancouver roll out. “Members of the trucking industry who want to publicly express displeasure over government policies can choose to hold an organized, lawful event on Parliament Hill or contact their local MP [member of parliament].” About the cross-border mandate, CTA president Stephen Laskowski capitulated, “This regulation is not changing so, as an industry, we must adapt and comply with this mandate.”
Social media paints a different picture, filled with hashtags such as #TruckersForFreedom and #TruckerConvoy2022. “I’m fully vaccinated,” reads one of the thousands of supportive tweets. “These truckers are fighting for my freedom AND yours. I fully support the trucker convoy & so should you!”
“Thank you for representing every Canadian,” reads another of thousands of Facebook comments. “Proud of you all! You have more support than you realize… thank you for the hope and for being our voice! Vax and Unvax together in peace!”
The Freedom Convoy 2022 already ranks as one of the highest-grossing projects in GoFundMe history, as Wikipedia admits. “Never in a million years did I think this would grow so large so quickly,” Lich writes in her latest update. Thanking donors for their overwhelming support, she adds, “You have given me something I haven’t felt in a long time. HOPE.”
