Topline
Thousands protesting Canada’s Covid-19 vaccine mandate for truckers continued to block the streets of the capital city of Ottawa for the second straight day Sunday, with those opposed to the mandate criticized for desecrating city monuments.
Supporters for a convoy of truckers driving from British Columbia to Ottawa in protest of a Covid-19 … [+] vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers, gather near a highway overpass outside of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on January 27, 2022. – A convoy of truckers started off from Vancouver on January 23, 2022 on its way to protest against the mandate in the capital city of Ottawa. (Photo by Cole Burston / AFP) (Photo by COLE BURSTON/AFP via Getty Images)
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Key Facts
Thousands of protestors remained at the “Freedom Convoy” in downtown Ottawa, with police opening investigations into appearances of swastika flags, the desecration of the city’s War Memorial and threatening behavior toward police officers, though no arrests have been made yet.
On Saturday, Trump spoke at a rally in Conroe, Texas, in which he said the Canadian protestors are “doing more to defend American freedom than our own leaders by far.”
The rally has evolved from a protest focused solely on trucker mandates into one denouncing Covid-19 health measures in general.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his family were forced to leave their downtown Ottawa home on Saturday due to the protests.
Despite the large turnout, 90% of Canada’s cross-border truckers are fully vaccinated against Covid-19, along with 79% of the population overall.
Crucial Quote
“We want those great Canadian truckers to know that we are with them all the way,” Trump said at a Texas rally Saturday.
Key Background
The convoy began its protest earlier this week in Vancouver, with drivers traveling across the country in protest of the mandate. The rule requires truckers to show proof of vaccination upon returning to Canada from the U.S.; those that don’t are required to quarantine for 14 days.
Tangent
A protestor flew a Canadian flag with a swastika on it on Canadian television behind Conservative Canadian Parliament member Michael Cooper, who attended the protest, as he spoke to the CBC. Cooper later released a statement on Twitter claiming he did not know the flag was being flown behind him, and that he was not associated with the person flying it. Canadian Chief of Defense Staff General Wayne Eyre denounced a woman who was filmed dancing on the city’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, saying he was “sickened” by the demonstration.