The Canadian leader was briefed on efforts to secure other ports of entry and recent further blockades during a meeting with ministers and senior officials. ![]() Trudeau's office said in a statement on Saturday that "all options are on the table" to resolve the crisis. Initially organized to oppose vaccine mandates for truckers crossing the border from the U.S., it has since grown into a movement against pandemic restrictions in general and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government. The protests-part of a so-called "Freedom Convoy"-began in Ottawa in late January. Please continue avoiding the area.- Windsor Police February 13, 2022 The Canadian border agency warned late Saturday afternoon that operations at a key truck crossing from western Canada into the United States had been slowed by protesters, advising travellers to find a different route.Enforcement actions continue at the demonstration area with arrests being made. Meanwhile, though the situation in Ottawa appeared to be ending, there were new signs the protests had not died out entirely. "Stand up for our friend Canada and let your voice be heard." ambassador to Canada during the Obama administration. "When I say democracy is fragile I mean it," Bruce Heyman, a U.S. support of the Canadian protesters is really aimed at energizing conservative politics in the U.S., where midterm elections are looming.Īnd some in the United States have pushed back. Prominent Republican politicians have praised the protesters.īut experts say the U.S. donors, according to an Associated Press analysis of leaked donor files. Millions of dollars in donations have flowed across the border to the protesters.Ībout 44 per cent of the nearly $10 million in contributions to support the protesters originated from U.S. by Fox News personalities and conservatives like Trump. The protests have been cheered on in the U.S. However, it's unclear whether enough Canadians support this vision to make it appealing beyond the party's base." "If he becomes Conservative leader, the party might effectively shift towards Trump-style populism. "Poilievre is clearly playing by the populist playbook right now," said Béland. But it remains unclear whether that will get him to the top of the party, or whether it would help or hurt him if there is a showdown between him and Trudeau or the next Liberal party leader. Pierre Poilievre, who is running to become the next leader of the Conservative party, has cheered on the protesters, gambling that voters will back him. Only recently have some Conservative leaders fully embraced the pushback against vaccine mandates and coronavirus restrictions.Įven so, the protests may open the door to the sort of populism that former President Donald Trump used to vault himself into the White House. ![]() READ: Elon Musk tweets and deletes meme comparing Trudeau to 'Hitler' amid Canada trucker protests But while the restrictions clearly benefitted the far-right People's Party of Canada, things are more complicated in the Conservative Party. Hundreds of trucks eventually occupied the streets around Parliament, a display that was part protest and part carnival.Īuthorities moved quickly to reopen the border posts, but police in Ottawa did little but issue warnings until the past couple days, even as hundreds and sometimes thousands of protesters clogged the streets of the city and besieged Parliament Hill.Ĭoronavirus health restrictions became a political cudgel for Canada's far right, which accused Trudeau of authoritarianism. The self-styled Freedom Convoy shook Canada's reputation for civility, inspired convoys in France, New Zealand and the Netherlands and interrupted trade, causing economic damage on both sides of the border. READ: 70 arrested, vehicles towed in sweeping police action against protesting truckers in Canada The conservatives "have to be careful not to alienate more moderate voters, who are generally not sympathetic to the protesters or right-wing populism more generally," said Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal. Trudeau's Liberals look bad for allowing protesters to foments weeks of chaos in the capital city, he said, while the Conservatives look bad for championing protesters, many of them from the farthest fringes of the right. "The protest has given both the Liberals and the Conservatives a black eye," said Nelson Wiseman, a political science professor at the University of Toronto. While most analysts doubt the protests will mark a historic watershed in Canadian politics, it has shaken both of Canada's two major parties. Protestors trying to prevent being pushed back by police in Ottawa on | AP
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