Inspired by Ottawa ‘Freedom Convoy,’ protesters blare horns, denounce Trudeau in downtown Hamilton
There were Canadian flags on sign boards and on hockey sticks; Canadian flags on long poles and carried by hand. Some Canadian flags were scrawled with anti-mandate slogans, and others flown during the convoy in Hamilton Saturday had messaging critical of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Two distinct groups made up the downtown demonstration - inspired by the ongoing Freedom Convoy" of truckers and others occupying downtown Ottawa. There were the folks standing in small groups on street corners along the King Street and Main Street routes of the convoy and a larger group of people of all ages at city hall.
Then there were the folks in cars and pickup trucks. Vehicles, including a few tractor-trailers and one farm tractor, formed a kilometres-long convoy that left the rallying point at Battlefield Park in Stoney Creek - the site of a War of 1812 British victory over the invading Americans - at 11 a.m.
The convoy entered downtown, headed toward Dundurn Street on King and then looping back down Main Street West, blaring horns at groups of willing spectators and unwilling residents alike. Confident and highly energetic protesters cheered and yelled out the windows of vehicles and back at the vehicles from the street.
Along city streets and at the municipal centre, participants were unwilling to give their names or do interviews and were clear that part of the issue at hand was lack of trust in the media.
Participants begrudged the press, local and national, claiming under-reporting about the convoys, understating the number of participants, not adequately sharing the goals of the protests and misrepresenting the larger groups of apparently peaceful demonstrators for the smaller numbers of white supremacists and other extremists. Some participants wore clothes branded with People's Party of Canada logos but most were united by nationalism and the desire for freedom from pandemic restrictions.
Unified goals were unclear, other than begrudging the country's leadership and denouncing COVID-19 mandates of all kinds.
Prior to the arrival of the convoy, dozens of police and bylaw officers waited on foot and in their vehicles for participants to arrive. They had blocked off Main Street West at Bay Street, with one lane available for convoy participants.
At around 12:30 p.m., police opened the lane to allow the rally to pass. The first vehicles were greeted with jubilation by the people standing on the city hall forecourt.
Pickup trucks and cars with hollering passengers passed one at a time. Some carried protest signs calling for freedom, unity, the end to mandates, and also vulgarities. Several times, at seemingly random moments, participants yelled f---" Trudeau."
At the corner of Main and Bay, a group of about 25 adults and children watched the incoming convoy when someone started singing O Canada. Everyone sang along.
Jeremy Kemeny is a Hamilton-based web editor at The Spectator. Reach him via email: jkemeny@thespec.com