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Articles on Freedom convoy
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The backbone of the so-called freedom convoy’s activities was its access to a steady flow of financing from donors both domestic and foreign. The Emergencies Act put a stop to that.
There have been bigger protests in other Canadian cities, but the so-called freedom convoy against vaccine mandates could be a sign of a rise in right-wing and libertarian sentiments.
Suggesting jail or prison is appealing because it is tangible and the process is familiar, but we must ask what is a better, effective and safe way to de-escalate potentially violent situations.
The convoy’s comparison of Canada’s current government to Nazi Germany draws on previously existing statephobia.
The Canadian Constitution compels a proportionate weighing of all Charter rights against the threat of COVID-19, meaning that individual freedom is not absolute.
Appropriating slogans associated with other causes creates false equivalencies and causes confusion.
Participants in the “freedom convoy” have been allowed to carry on with minimal police and state interference in contrast to how Black and Indigenous protesters have been treated in the past.
Although anger is often an appropriate response to mistreatment, that doesn’t mean we always identify the source of the wrong or injustice correctly.
Canada’s international reputation as a relatively peaceful country is at odds with the noisy protests by people opposed to measures aimed at preventing COVID-19.
How American-style Christian rhetoric is appearing in the so-called “freedom convoy.”
A perception that the benefits and status people believe themselves entitled to have been wrongfully taken away by unforeseen forces motivates ‘freedom convoy’ protesters.
When an attention-based media system always allows the noise-makers to dominate the conversation, it becomes impossible to hear the full range of voices and views.
Racialized and marginalized populations whose protest movements are already subject to ongoing forms of monitoring, infiltration and pre-emptive police action are at risk from the convoy crisis.
When the “freedom convoy” used the Terry Fox statue as part of their demonstration, people were outraged. It showed the public still finds value in protecting a memorial that represents their values.
To turn back the tides of radicalization and hate, Canada needs investments in our democratic culture, improvements in policing and support for grassroots efforts.
Democracy benefits from the electoral viability of an alternative party on the centre-right. An unelectable, far-right Conservative Party will solidify the Liberal Party’s dominance.
A study of global far-right movements and their hashtags on Twitter have revealed similarities that display a reliance on long-held myths, including the idea of a “golden age of freedom.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has invoked the Emergencies Act for the first time in Canadian history. His father had invoked its predecessor, the War Measures Act, more than half a century earlier.
Both faith and civil society groups have a role to play in speaking against polarization and the risk of violence, since these organizations enjoy bipartisan support.
Top contributors
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Associate Professor of Disaster and Emergency Management, York University, Canada
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Instructor, Legal Studies and Criminology, Kwantlen Polytechnic University
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Professor of Political Science, University of Calgary
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Professor, School of Public Policy and Administration, York University, Canada
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PhD Candidate, Political Science, Western University
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Professor, Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University
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Professor of Law, University of Waikato
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Assistant Professor, Political Science, University of Windsor
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Associate Professor, Political Science, University of Northern British Columbia
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Associate Professor, MBA Faculty of Leadership & People Management, University Canada West
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Professor of Communication Studies; Research Chair on Intersectionality, Violence and Resistance, Concordia University
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Associate Professor, Agri-Food Trade and Policy, University of Guelph
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Academic Dean and Professor of Hebrew Bible, Knox College, University of Toronto
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Associate Professor of Criminal Justice, University of Winnipeg
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Professor in Education of Gender, Sexuality and Identity, Lakehead University
