Trucker convoy from Vancouver to Ottawa raises millions as vaccine-hesitant supporters flock to cause
A group of truckers has garnered millions in fundraising dollars from droves of supporters as it drives across the country to protest vaccine mandates, despite the vast majority of big-riggers having been jabbed.
Setting off from Vancouver on Sunday, the “Freedom Convoy” had raised more than $3.5 million from some 46,500 donors - about $75 per donor on average - by Monday afternoon in support of truck drivers poised to converge on Ottawa this weekend, according to the campaign's GoFundMe page.
The fledgling fleet is demonstrating against the federal requirement that essential workers - truckers included - be vaccinated if they want to avoid a 14-day quarantine after crossing the border from the United States. The rule came into effect Jan. 15.
Harwil Farms Mobile Feeds, whose 12 drivers deliver feed to farms and livestock to slaughterhouses in southern Ontario, donated $5,000 to the convoy, making it among the top contributors.
Owner Wendy Metcalfe said she believes vaccination is unnecessary.
“It doesn't seem to be working very well, does it? You've got people that are double, triple vaxxed, and they're still getting the Omicron,” she said.
“I'm definitely against the mandates, and I'm way more than skeptical.”
Research from studies in the U.S., Germany, South Africa and the United Kingdom indicate vaccines are less effective against the Omicron variant than earlier strains of the virus, but also that booster shots beef up antibodies to reduce the chance of symptomatic infection, severe illness or death. A third dose is also at least 90 per cent effective at preventing hospitalization for COVID-19, including for Omicron, according to a study released Friday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
Despite the money and effort invested into the convoy, Metcalfe expects Ottawa to stick with the mandate for cross-border truckers, as well as an upcoming requirement that all federally regulated workers get vaccinated. A deadline has not yet been set.
She insisted the convoy's fundraising figure may well be necessary, estimating the cost of diesel for a single tractor heading from Vancouver to Ottawa would range up to $5,000.
A slew of semis rolled through Calgary early Monday morning, though many may not be bound for Ottawa as some truckers sought to show solidarity for a few hours rather than 3,500 kilometres. Other groups such as a Montreal contingent are slated to leave the West Island on Saturday at 7 a.m. for a 200-kilometre trip - at far lower cost in food and fuel.
Regina police said Monday they expected about 400 trucks to pass through the city at around 5 p.m., with another 800 agreeing to swing around the provincial capital via a highway bypass.
The organizer is listed as Tamara Lich, a secretary on the board of the Maverick Party. Formerly known as Wexit Canada, the fledgling party advocates for the independence of Western Canada or constitutional changes that would benefit the West.
Reese Evans, general manager of Evans Trucking, said 14 of his 36 drivers who typically haul lumber across the Alberta-Montana border are unvaccinated - and largely out of commission following the vaccine mandate. His outfit donated $5,000 to the campaign.
“We as a company don't believe that the government - that it's their right to tell people what they should or shouldn't be doing with their bodies,” he said. “That should always be an autonomous decision for each individual person.”
Evans said the new rule, in conjunction with the U.S. decision to bar unvaccinated Canadian truckers from entering the country as of last Saturday - Canada has the same policy toward American drivers - would only exacerbate supply shortages and price hikes.
The funding support for the convoy suggests broad popular support, he said, though public opinion polls since August show a vast majority of Canadians back vaccine mandates for essential workers.
On Saturday the Canadian Trucking Alliance condemned protests on roads and highways. But Evans said planned demonstrations near border crossing points across the country this weekend are safe and legal.
“Nobody is stopping on the highway with their vehicles and crossing the roads,” he said. Rather the protest convoys will see semis “just moving very, very slowly in a big circle parade-style.”
Vashty Dansereau, a kinesiologist who lives outside Calgary, woke up early Monday to see the truckers off at 7 a.m. - part of a wave of sign-wielding supporters who turned out in several cities along the route.
“I think the goal is just to be heard, because what I'm finding is that there's only one side of information out there,” said Dansereau, who said she donated to the convoy because she is “skeptical” of the vaccines.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 24, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Slovak defence minister says doctors are fighting for life of prime minister who was shot
The Slovak defence minister says doctors are fighting for the life of the country's prime minister, who was shot multiple times after a political event Wednesday afternoon.
Transport Canada's UFO 'lead' planned to meet with U.S. intel officials, called info requests a 'wild goose chase'
Canada's transportation department had a UFO 'lead' who tried to 'quell' media interest and planned to meet with U.S. intelligence officials.
'Very expensive lunch': Sask. driver handed a cell phone ticket for using points app in McDonald's drive-thru
A warning from a Saskatoon driver about using your fast-food app while in the drive-thru line — a trip to get some free lunch cost him a lot more than he bargained for.
'The Fly' has become notorious in France after a brazen escape. What's his criminal history?
A prisoner nicknamed “The Fly” has become notorious in France overnight after a daring and bloody escape from a prison convoy in Normandy that left two guards dead.
BREAKING Ontario's 'crypto king' Aiden Pleterski arrested
Aiden Pleterski, the self-proclaimed 'crypto king' from Whitby, Ont., has been arrested in Durham Region after allegedly running a Ponzi scheme worth more than $40 million.
BREAKING Barge hits a bridge in Texas, damaging the structure and causing an oil spill
A barge hit a bridge in Galveston, Texas, on Wednesday, spilling oil into surrounding waters and closing the only road to a small island, officials said.
Person responsible for 1996 drugging of 'Titanic' crew likely not a local: Halifax police
Halifax Regional Police believe a non-resident could be responsible for the infamous drugging of numerous crew members of the 'Titanic' movie with a hallucinogenic in 1996.
Latest updates on the biggest wildfires burning in Canada
Thousands of people in Western Canada remain displaced from their homes as wildfires threaten their communities, triggering evacuation orders and alerts.
OPINION Your attention span is shrinking, studies say. Here's how to stay focused: Sandee LaMotte
Regaining your focus requires you to be mindful of how you are using technology -- a daunting task if you consider the average American spends at least 10 hours a day on screens.