I live in downtown Ottawa, right in the middle of the trucker convoy protest. They are literally camped out below my bedroom window. My new neighbours moved in on Friday and they seem determined to stay. I have read a lot about what my new neighbours are supposedly like, mostly from reporters and columnists who write from distant vantage points somewhere in the media heartland of Canada. Apparently the people who inhabit the patch of asphalt next to my bedroom are white supremacists, racists, hatemongers, pseudo-Trumpian grifters, and even QAnon-style nutters. I have a perfect view down Kent Street – the absolute ground zero of the convoy. In the morning, I see some protesters emerge from their trucks to stretch their legs, but mostly throughout the day they remain in their cabs honking their horns. At night I see small groups huddled in quiet conversations in their new found companionship. There is no honking at night. What I haven’t noticed, not even once, are reporters from any of Canada’s news agencies walking among the trucks to find out who these people are. So last night, I decided to do just that – I introduced myself to my new neighbours.
At 10pm I started my walk along – and in – Kent Street. I felt nervous. Would these people shout at me? My clothes, my demeanour, even the way I walk screamed that I’m an outsider. All the trucks were aglow in the late evening mist, idling to maintain warmth, but all with ominously dark interiors. Standing in the middle of the convoy, I felt completely alone as though these giant monsters weren’t piloted by people but were instead autonomous transformer robots from some science fiction universe that had gone into recharging mode for the night. As I moved along I started to notice smatterings of people grouped together between the cabs sharing cigarettes or enjoying light laughs. I kept quiet and moved on. Nearby, I spotted a heavy duty pickup truck, and seeing the silhouette of a person in the driver’s seat, I waved. A young man, probably in his mid 20s, rolled down the window, said hello and I introduced myself. His girlfriend was reclined against the passenger side door with a pillow to prop her up as she watched a movie on her phone. I could easily tell it’s been an uncomfortable few nights. I asked how they felt and I told them I lived across the street. Immediate surprise washed over the young man’s face. He said, “You must hate us. But no one honks past 6pm!” That’s true. As someone who lives right on top of the convoy, there is no noise at night. I said, “No, I don’t hate anyone, but I wanted to find out about you.” The two were from Sudbury Ontario, having arrived on Friday with the bulk of the truckers. I ask what they hoped to achieve, and what they wanted. The young woman in the passenger seat moved forward, excited to share. They said that they didn’t want a country that forced people to get medical treatments such as vaccines. There was no hint of conspiracy theories in their conversation with me, not a hint of racist overtones or hateful demagoguery. I didn’t ask them if they had taken the vaccine, but they were adamant that they were not anti-vaxers.
The next man I ran into was standing in front of the big trucks at the head of the intersection. Past middle age and slightly rotund, he had a face that suggests a lifetime of working outdoors. I introduced myself and he told me he was from Cochrane, Ontario. He also proudly pointed out that he was the block captain who helped maintain order. I thought, oh no, he might be the one person keeping a lid on things; is it all that precarious? I delicately asked how hard his job was to keep the peace but I quickly learned that’s not really what he did. He organized the garbage collection among the cabs, put together snow removal crews to shovel the sidewalks and clear the snow that accumulates on the road. He even has a salting crew for the sidewalks. He proudly bellowed in an irrepressible laugh “We’re taking care of the roads and sidewalks better than the city.” I waved goodbye and continued to the next block.
My next encounter was with a man dressed in dark blue shop-floor coveralls. A wiry man of upper middle age, he seemed taciturn and stood a bit separated from the small crowd that formed behind his cab for a late night smoke. He hailed from the Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia. He owned his own rig, but he only drove truck occasionally, his main job being a self-employed heavy duty mechanic. He closed his shop to drive to Ottawa, because he said, “I don’t want my new granddaughter to live in a country that would strip the livelihood from someone for not getting vaccinated.” He introduced me to the group beside us. A younger crowd, I can remember their bearded faces, from Athabasca, Alberta, and Swift Current Saskatchewan. The weather had warmed, and it began to rain slightly, but they too were excited to tell me why they came to Ottawa. They felt that they needed to stand up to a government that doesn’t understand what their lives are like. To be honest, I don’t know what their lives are like either – a group of young men who work outside all day with tools that they don’t even own. Vaccine mandates are a bridge too far for them. But again, not a hint of anti-vax conspiracy theories or deranged ideology.
I made my way back through the trucks, my next stop leading me to a man of East Indian descent in conversation with a young man from Sylvan Lake, Alberta. They told me how they were following the news of O’Toole’s departure from the Conservative leadership and that they didn’t like how in government so much power has pooled into so few hands.
The rain began to get harder; I moved quickly through the intersection to the next block. This time I waved at a driver in one of the big rigs. Through the rain it was hard to see him, but he introduced himself, an older man, he had driven up from New Brunswick to lend his support. Just behind him some young men from Gaspésie, Quebec introduced themselves to me in their best English. At that time people started to notice me – this man from Ottawa who lives across the street – just having honest conversations with the convoy. Many felt a deep sense of abuse by a powerful government and that no one thinks they matter.
Behind the crowd from Gaspésie sat a stretch van, the kind you often see associated with industrial cleaners. I could see the shadow of a man leaning out from the back as he placed a small charcoal BBQ on the sidewalk next to his vehicle. He introduced himself and told me he was from one of the reservations on Manitoulin Island. Here I was in conversation with an Indigenous man who was fiercely proud to be part of the convoy. He showed me his medicine wheel and he pointed to its colours, red, black, white, and yellow. He said there is a message of healing in there for all the human races, that we can come together because we are all human. He said, “If you ever find yourself on Manitoulin Island, come to my reserve, I would love to show you my community.” I realized that I was witnessing something profound; I don’t know how to fully express it.
As the night wore on and the rain turned to snow, those conversations repeated themselves. The man from Newfoundland with his bullmastiff, a young couple from British Columbia, the group from Winnipeg that together form what they call “Manitoba Corner ” all of them with similar stories. At Manitoba Corner a boisterous heavily tattooed man spoke to me from the cab of his dually pickup truck – a man who had a look that would have fit right in on the set of some motorcycle movie – pointed out that there are no symbols of hate in the convoy. He said, “Yes there was some clown with a Nazi flag on the weekend, and we don’t know where he’s from, but I’ll tell you what, if we see anyone with a Nazi flag or a Confederate flag, we’ll kick his fucking teeth in. No one’s a Nazi here.” Manitoba Corner all gave a shout out to that.
As I finally made my way back home, after talking to dozens of truckers into the night, I realized I met someone from every province except PEI. They all have a deep love for this country. They believe in it. They believe in Canadians. These are the people that Canada relies on to build its infrastructure, deliver its goods, and fill the ranks of its military in times of war. The overwhelming concern they have is that the vaccine mandates are creating an untouchable class of Canadians. They didn’t make high-falutin arguments from Plato’s Republic, Locke’s treatises, or Bagehot’s interpretation of Westminster parliamentary systems. Instead, they see their government willing to push a class of people outside the boundaries of society, deny them a livelihood, and deny them full membership in the most welcoming country in the world; and they said enough. Last night I learned my new neighbours are not a monstrous faceless occupying mob. They are our moral conscience reminding us – with every blow of their horns – what we should have never forgotten: We are not a country that makes an untouchable class out of our citizens.
This was beautiful, thank you for taking the time to know the convoy. I’m an immigrant myself (from Colombia) and believe the Convoy represents me and my freedom as well. I came to this country to live without fear and free. Thank you again David for this beautiful piece.
😍 Beautifull! Very well said 🙏
This was an amazing article to read! So heartwarming! Thank you so much for going out and talking to the truckers. They are good people and we need more positive, truthful stories like this circulating the internet. I am from Saskatchewan and I just want to say that these truckers have had amazing impacts on the covid situation all over the country. Since last Saturday, our premier has already announced that we will be lifting restrictions and removing the vaccine mandate in our province! I believe this is primarily due to the truckers being courageous enough to stand up for our freedom. Thank you to all the people in the convoy for helping to make Canada a better place! I will share this story with as many people as I can!
Very interesting and moving story. More power to the truckers! Cheers from America.
Beautifully written. Abraham Lincoln is quoted as saying, “I do not like that man. I must get to know him better.” The best journalism seeks to get all the possible sides of the story. You did well. The world is watching in awe of Canadian brave resistance fighters. We are all in this together. Australia and Canada are the experiments and we should not be so naive as to think this won’t cross all borders. We love you Canada. You are boosting the hope and awakening of all the world.
Julie Ferwerda, Medford Oregon, former nurse (fired for refusing the Oregon-mandated jab for healthcare workers), writer, researcher
Amazing post; I appreciate what seems to be your honest perspective here, and your inquisition.
Thank you for sharing your experience and interaction with this group of convoy. Prior to reading it I had the wrong impression about this group of truckers parading in downtown Ottawa. Now I understand and appreciate what this group of Canadians are doing.
Your writing is so vivid and honest. But I particularly like your remarks or commentary toward the end. “They are our moral conscience reminding us – with every blow of their horns – what we should have never forgotten.”
David,
I am an Alberta farm wife, whose husband drove truck long haul for the first ten years of our marriage. Before we had kids I traveled with him between Edmonton, AB and the Mexico Border. I have met people from all walks of life. Truthfully, none of us are all that different. We sometimes just have to meet them where they are at.
I have also walked into situations and groups that I was at first uncomfortable with, I almost always walked away with new friendships.
You have written a beautiful piece about meeting people where they are at.
By sharing your personal experiences speaking with our fellow citizens you have beautifully described what it is that defines us as Canadians. Thank you!
So good to hear the truth from someone. We’d be in Ottawa if we could find a way.
Thank you David!
Well David, PEI checking in. Born and raised first 20 years of life. Now im a ‘berta boy like the rest of the islanders.
Thanks for going out there and using your eyes, taking an honest look and seeing what we all know it is.
Thank you.
Nick, from PEI
This is beautifully written and on point. Thank you for sharing your perspective and experience. Much love from another Ottawan.
Thank you, David. We have a tendency to dehumanized the people that we disagree with. This gives us a glimpse of the faces of the men and women who have been painted by the media and our political leaders as the most vile and abhorrent of Canadians. I am so grateful for your honesty and fairness. I hope other Canadians can begin to grasp what you have articulated here.
Thank you from Edmonton, Alberta.
Thank you for such a well written piece and taking the time to talk to them and us. 🙂
Wonderful to hear stories of Canadians from coast to coast to coast coming together for something they believe in.
You are witnessing history. Thanks for being objective. I didn’t believe any of what the news networks were reporting. If only their reporters wandered around doing the same as you have done.
David, you have touched my heart.
I don’t know how else to put it.
See I am a truck driver, retired after over forty years in the business.
Your story makes me so proud to have been a truck driver. You captured who we are better then anyone I have ever known.
There is one thing your brief encounter could not have shown you. Many of us want to make a difference in this world. We want to do the best job possible in whatever we do.
That part of us lead me to spend my final years in the business drive a snow plow for the Alberta government.
We don’t want to leave a worse world for our children the we inherited from our parents and it’s hugely frustrating to us to see our politicians squandering it all for their political gain.
We are represent of every segment of our country.
Some of us are highly educated, some even have degrees, other have cognitive challenges.
Some are hunters, some photographers, some are writers. Some are community volunteers.
We are husbands and wives, preachers and teachers, sons and daughters. We are your neighbors.
We as a country have been ripped apart. Thank you David for threading the needle to help weave use back together.
Proud of your honesty and integrity here.
The palpable disgust from the political class and utter absence of media coverage with even a hint of this candor is infuriating.
As someone who has decided to stand against the mandates because I want to model integrity for my young children, I am threatened now with my employment.
These people brought me hope in humanity when I felt none – and you’ve captured that. Thank you!
It’s been incredibly troubling to see some of my fellow Canadians, folks who consider themselves “liberal”, “progressive”, “good” people, so actively engage in the dehumanization of those who make up, and support, the Freedom Convoy.
Our legacy media fails to inform us today. Thus, the relentless beat of propaganda plays a hand in the willingness of some to not understand what’s happening.
Thank you for taking the time to go beyond the click-bait outrage and the political rhetoric to show us the heart of matters. May our “leaders” do the same and do right by the people of Canada. All of us.
Good for you David, this world needs more people like you to go out of your comfort zone to see for yourself what those people are like,Canada needs people like you ND those truck driver’s, to rule this country, GOD BLESS YOU
From, Wanham Alberta, Proud to be a CANADIAN
Thank you. Beautifully written.
Bravo David … I wish more of our elected officials would do the same thing you did .Thank you for writing what we all need to hear
Very beautiful to read your experience. Makes me so proud to be a Canadian! FREEDOM!!
Thank you for sharing your journey. My heart is filled.
Thank you so much for sharing! 🙏❤
David, good of you step out of your comfort zone despite what you’d heard. I trust you are being a good host. It saddens me to see the tears and amazement in response to your story. What does that say about today’s Canadian culture? Are we that self-absorbed and disconnected from each other? I hope all the words expressed here become actions which help heal and unify Canadians. What can we learn from each other, how can we help each other? Staying in with the screen is divisive and I hope this article serves to bring us all closer together, showing us how amazing our fellow Canadians really are. It’s high time we follow David’s example and reach out.
Brilliant piece, thank you for sharing this amazing experience. I hope to see it with my own eyes soon.
This is such an honest and beautiful account. I found it to be incredibly moving. Thank you for sharing the truth of what is happening in Ottawa.
Thank you so much for this incredibly moving account of what is going on in Ottawa. I was really touched by it.
David, I don’t know you and you seem to be a fair-minded person, and I won’t hold against you your quite obvious disdain for everything the Canadian Government and health authorities have done to mitigate COVID19 cases. Though I will say that for a Statistician, you might have thrown in at least a variable or two to make your ‘survey’ a bit more believable. Due to my own profession as a Clergy, I’d be the last person to suggest all the protesters are ‘bad apples’ though the perfect halo score you offer does seem a bit over the top and perfectly choreographed for people who live in the Freedom Convoy echo chamber. You seem like a smart guy, and I’m sure you know what ‘confirmation bias’ is. This report of the walk-about to meet your ‘new neighbors’ certainly makes it seem like you’re not too disappointed they now ‘occupy’ your hood.
I take Covid-19 very seriously and I’ve done original research on how it propagates and in seroprevalence – you can look it up if you like. I moved my data science team to work exclusively on Covid-19 for over a year. I’ve put in an awful lot of overtime that I never asked a dime for to lend whatever help I could to find out how this virus propagates.
Earlier this week, I just wanted to know how the people living in their vehicles on my street felt. Whatever you think of them, they are sincere and they are human beings with real feelings. Empathy matters.
👏🏻
Jim from Alberta … not the one that asked you the questions. Bravo David
Excellent reply, David. You let us all know that you have knowledge in what and why you wrote what you did and with such honesty and feeling, the truth of the matter.
💪👏
Beautiful article and loved reading this from a suburb in Texas!!! I’ve been flooring the truckers and movement since it began. And your accountant and story aligns with just about everything I’ve watched and seen on social media. I loved your honest heartfelt interactions you’ve written about. God Bless you all!! I truly believe non of us are free till we are all free. And I believe your story help push us to towards that!
Thanks David! ❤️🇺🇸🇨🇦
A good story. Thanks for doing the walk about.
This was awesome! Very well written and shows the rest of Canada and the world exactly what is going on in the convoy. People like you David make me proud to b Canadian. People have to b able to peacefully stand up tide their rights!
Thank you for this beautiful, heartfelt, and truthful account David. I do not live downtown, but have gone twice to see with my own eyes and speak with the convoy. I have had such beautiful exchanges with them, always with a smile and with a lot of love. I have only experienced so much love and peace. If there were profanities, they were only targeted towards the convoy, not by the convoy. Today i met a women who came from Lac Megantic. When i told her i was from Ottawa, she asked me, is it true that they hate us here? We just came because we needed to stand up for our freedoms, but we don’t want to hurt anyone or generate hatred for us. It made me cry. These are honest, hard working people who felt that it was their duty to stand up for freedom and drive across the country to do so. Others told me they left their young families behind, as young as one year old. These are truly good men and women. I do hope your story gets out far and wide so that truth can prevail.
Thank you for your wonderful honest observations. As an American with a family heritage in the Kitchener/Waterloo/Port Colburn area of Ontario (and close relatives in Sudbury, Ontario and Denzil/Regina, Saskatchewan), I’ve been following the truckers’ journey pretty much from the beginning. That the Canandian MSM is pretty much as deceitful as what is found “over here” makes me that much more determined to dig and do my own research as opposed to just accepting what comes across the airwaves. Here’s hoping your blog post finds its’ way before the eyes of those who would do more harm to Canada…..would that we here in the USA find the same type of courage to follow your example and do it with the same grace and class as what I’m seeing.
Thank you…..oh, and yes, I cried reading this……
Did you happen to tell them who you work for?
Yes, I did. Every one of them.
Brilliant, thank you
Bravo. The test of a society’s resilience is not whether all will stand for a majority, but how many will stand to defend the rights of the minority.
When the convoy’s wheels started to roll towards our great nations capital last week a collective sigh seemed to purvey across our vast land as if the cavalry finally came in to lift the heavy, dark, fear-mongering veil from the ugly monster that is the last 2 years! Finally hope and excitement filled the hearts and souls of all Canadians who felt like the future was dreadfully bleak and never to be returned to “normal” and not speaking of the “new” kind.
As the days have passed and the PM’s division and contemptuous rhetoric was emboldened by his main stream media trumpeter’s drowning out the horn’s across the land, that hope and enthusiasm dimmed with each passing moment. Fear, isolation, defeat, and hopelessness began to creep back in. Please let the protests be peaceful, please let the protesters be heard, please begin the path towards healing. It was as if Canada’s life depended on it. Please say it wasn’t so; racism, mysogony, denigration of monuments, blasphemous vile and contemptuous behaviour. This is not the Canada that we know and love. Then along came that beacon of hope that we have all been hinging on. The unbiased truth!
Thank you for providing an honest, soul-bearing account of the events that truthfully reconciles the images of peace, love, humanity and fight for freedom that the media failed to portray. I for one am still having a hard time reconciling the vile accounts and words of the politicians and media that continue to divide and how evil their messaging is and has been. The images and videos didn’t align with the malicious lashing that was bestowed on them. Thank you David for bringing these personal experiences to us so vividly. These truckers are brave and courageous and are not the fringe. They are the collective voices of Canadians and their views are accepted and tolerated by us. We should all stand up for our rights and freedoms, we should all stand shoulder to shoulder with all Canadians irrespective of vaccination status and arbitrary mandate adherence! This is not a protest, this is not an occupation, this is a movement that will unite and heal this country. This was needed and welcomed. This is what Canada is and what Canadians stand for. Thank you David and thank you truckers!!
Thank you for that beautiful and poignant portrait of your new neighbours in Ottawa. I keep hoping people can see past prejudices and ideologies to the humanity of the people standing up for what they – and so many of us believe in. Your piece is a perfect depiction of them.
Thank you for this story, I wish the whole country could read it. So rare it is nowadays to read about a genuine human experience.
I have had to follow this saga unfold from my ranch in Northern Alberta. My wife and I pray daily for a peaceful demeanor among the convoy folks. We also pray that their stamina and determination will not waver. And yes, we pray for a wake up moment to those few that believe they have unfettered authority to impose grossly overbearing measures that have no place anywhere in the world, yet is occurring in Canada.
Reading this article gives me a glimmer of hope that the cold shoulder response from an indifferent MSM, and the false accusations from Canada’s leaders is not the identity of our nation.
God has granted serenity to accept things that cannot be changed. God has granted courage to change the things we can. And God has indeed granted wisdom to know the difference.
From Iowa, USA ..THANK YOU! We already knew who these people were.. good salt of the Earth hard working Canadians but I hope your article informs someone who doesn’t already know
David, the heartfelt message of your adventure ‘on the street’ to get up close and personal to know the real people behind the curtain of political propaganda and media lies was beautiful. I applaud your sincerity to connect with the truth and with other Canadians who have had enough of the tyrannical agenda from puppet politicians. Thank you for posting your story… Cheers from Vancouver Inland
Well done David, not just for this well written piece, but more so for desiring to understand. And then searching the truth out for yourself. Thank you👏 Your last sentence: “They are our moral conscience reminding us – with every blow of their horns – what we should have never forgotten: We are not a country that makes an untouchable class out of our citizens.” …Every country in the world needs to be reminded of this. The proof of that is all around us. But, THEN comes along this “fringe minority”. With their courage and passion they have united people from all walks of life and literally given hope to the whole world. (I’m chiming in from Colorado 🇺🇸) We/The world knows the Canadian Truckers and their Convoy is peaceful and would prefer to not be where they are. But they have reached (they’ve been pushed to) their moral limits and can no longer accept unlawful mandates or allow their freedoms and the freedoms of their families, their neighbors, and their countrymen to continue to be eroded away. What they are doing is very selfless. I am deeply grateful to them for igniting a fire that has expanded beyond your Canadian borders. There’s life behind this movement that is so much bigger than main stream media, social media, or the self-seeking greedy cowards who lead our respective countries. And that life, I believe, is the breath of God.🙏❤
Wow. This wonderful story gave me butterflies and filled my eyes with tears of emotions. Very touching and genuine. Thank you for taking a chance on our fellow Canadians and to listen to their stories. If the government thinks we are going to hand over our freedom on a silver platter, this Convoy has reminded them otherwise. The silent majority has awakened and will be heard. God Bless Us All.
Absolutely beautifully written.
I feel such a strong connection with these truckers. I am one of the outcast Canadian citizens living on the west coast. Our family felt so alone until the truckers spoke out and started this movement.
We show our support by joining in the local convoys and sending messages of truth on social media. A few days this week I have even considered driving across to join them.
Thank you for writing such a beautiful story of your contact with these brave angels.
Thank you for sharing this information. Your courage has been noted and has inspired me to step off the sidelines. Truth matters!!!!!!
I thoroughly enjoyed reading your article I felt like I was walking right beside you , mingling among the crowd as you talked to all these wonderful people. Each having their own story to share, but having one common goal for being in Ottawa. I’ve been following the Freedom convoy 2022 from down here in Asheville North Carolina. This movement is dear to my heart, you see I haven’t been home to visit family for over two years since Covid began, and now with the restrictions with vaccine mandates and passport required to go over the border. I’m so proud of these men and women that are standing and fighting for the freedoms of all Canadians, and actually for all our brothers and sisters throughout the world! The World is watching!!!! This gives me hope and makes me proud to be a Canadian . Being a child of two immigrant parents who fled the stigma of Nazi Germany to create a better life in Canada, for their children and grandchildren. My parents would tell us so many stories of the restrictions, hunger, loss of livelihoods, loss of family all during war times, they themselves were only children during World War II., and experienced SO much sadness and loss of freedoms. I realized how fortunate I was to live in a country with so much, taking all of life’s conveniences and ease For granted. However, I recognize slowly, more and more our freedoms are being taken away it seem more prevalent in the last few years, also here in the US. I hear my brother mentions how much more the restrictions are there in Canada, it makes my heart sad. He is like many throughout Canada and also in the US, that have lost jobs because of the vaccine mandate. However, It gives me hope to hear that several countries have already lifted all mandates, so perhaps soon we will see that also reach our shores there in North America. Thank you for allowing me to share, and God bless each and every person who are fighting for their God given right to exercise free will.
This was so encouraging to read. Thank you for being vulnerable, both in exploring the new world outside your front door, and for sharing your experience with us. This reminded me that the Canada I used to love still exists somewhere.