Hundreds of Maritimers gather along highways Thursday in support of the 'freedom convoy'
Hundreds of Maritimers lined highways, packed parking lots and showed their support on Thursday for the rally of truckers headed to Ottawa in protest of Canada-wide COVID-19 mandates.
Truck drivers from as far away as Newfoundland and Labrador converged in Enfield, N.S., early Thursday morning to receive a sendoff from hundreds who braved the cold.
"This is a country which today has come together in unity to stand for freedom. We are going to Ottawa to end the mandates and get our rights back so people can go to work again," said Martin Broadmann, president of Truckers United.
On Jan. 15, Canada began to require all travellers, including essential workers like truck drivers, to show proof of vaccination when crossing the border. The United States imposed a similar requirement on truckers crossing the northern border with Canada and the southern border with Mexico as of Jan. 22.
Many truckers have since expressed their anger with the federal government's mandate.
"I don't think it reflects what Canada is about, to be honest," said Jean-Marc Picard, the executive director of Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association, about the protest.
Truck drivers from across Canada and their supporters are expected to arrive in Ottawa over the coming days as part of the rally.
Beverley Nicol, a Moncton, N.B., resident, was one of many who gathered along an overpass just outside of the city on Thursday in support of the "freedom convoy."
"I want to support the truckers who are standing up for our rights and freedoms to have choice, vaccine choice, and not be forced to follow government regulations," said Nicol.
Despite the number of supporters who showed up across the region on Thursday, Picard doesn't expect many Maritime truck drivers will actually be involved with the freedom rally.
"For the most part, I don't think there's going to be a huge number of Atlantic Canada, of truck drivers," said Picard. "There might be people going on the convoy, but they're not necessarily part of trucking."
Don Desserud, a political science professor at the University of Prince Edward Island, says mixed messaging can be an issue with protests of this size, when multiple groups are involved.
"What protesters have to do is be absolutely clear about what exactly it is that they're concerned about because that could easily be misconstrued and then the wrong approach is taken, the wrong response is taken, which is not really what they're after," said Desserud.
As far as supply chain issues caused by the freedom convoy, Picard says so far, there seem to be no disruptions. However, he is concerned about protests planned for this weekend, which could potentially see blockades at the Nova Scotia-New Brunswick border.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Police: Buffalo gunman aimed to keep killing if he got away
The white gunman accused of massacring 10 Black people in a racist rampage at a Buffalo supermarket planned to keep killing if he had escaped the scene, the police commissioner said Monday, as the possibility of federal hate crime or domestic terror charges loomed.
Conservative leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre denounces 'white replacement theory'
Pierre Poilievre is denouncing the 'white replacement theory' believed to be a motive for a mass shooting in Buffalo, N.Y., as 'ugly and disgusting hate-mongering.'
Ontario driver who killed woman and three daughters sentenced to 17 years in prison
A driver who struck and killed a woman and her three young daughters nearly two years ago 'gambled with other people's lives' when he took the wheel, an Ontario judge said Monday in sentencing him to 17 years behind bars.
What we know so far about the victims of the Buffalo mass shooting
A former police officer, the 86-year-old mother of Buffalo's former fire commissioner, and a grandmother who fed the needy for decades were among those killed in a racist attack by a gunman on Saturday in a Buffalo grocery store. Three people were also wounded.
Documents show a pattern of human rights abuses against gender diverse prisoners
Facing daily instances of violence and abuse, gender diverse people in the Canadian prison system say they are forced to take measures into their own hands to secure their safety.
White 'replacement theory' fuels racist attacks
A racist ideology seeping from the internet's fringes into the mainstream is being investigated as a motivating factor in the supermarket shooting that killed 10 people in Buffalo, New York. Most of the victims were Black.
Ontario party leaders set to face off in election debate
The Ontario election leaders debate is happening on Monday night. Here's how to watch it live.
Amber Heard says she feared she would not survive Johnny Depp marriage
'Aquaman' actor Amber Heard told jurors in a defamation case on Monday that she filed for divorce from Johnny Depp in 2016 because she worried she would not survive physical abuse by him.
Federal commitments still outstanding, nearly a year since first residential school burial site discovery
Almost a year since the first reported discovery of a burial site at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, the federal government provided an update on the promises it has made since to 'lift up the truth,' many of which are still a work in progress.
Toronto
-
Ontario driver who killed woman and three daughters sentenced to 17 years in prison
A driver who struck and killed a woman and her three young daughters nearly two years ago 'gambled with other people's lives' when he took the wheel, an Ontario judge said Monday in sentencing him to 17 years behind bars.
-
Ontario party leaders set to face off in election debate
The Ontario election leaders debate is happening on Monday night. Here's how to watch it live.
-
Video of brazen carjackings released by police north of Toronto
Police in York Region have released new video footage of a series of brazen carjackings as they warn drivers about a spike in violent incidents targeting luxury vehicles.
Calgary
-
Calgary's rental car shortage expected to continue through summer 2022
A summer approaches, travellers hoping to rent a vehicle may find it difficult to find an affordable option – not just in Alberta, but right across Canada.
-
Battle of Alberta extends to city halls with friendly facepaint, cancer charity donation wager
The mayors of Calgary and Edmonton are throwing their support behind their respective home teams ahead of the long awaited return of a playoff version of the storied Battle of Alberta.
-
Man stabbed in Olympic Plaza in Monday afternoon assault
Police were called to Olympic Plaza Monday after receiving reports that a man had been assaulted.
Montreal
-
Quebec coroner calls for independence in public health director role in final report on long-term care home deaths
The government of Quebec needs to ensure the role of the public health director is independent and without any 'political constraint,' a Quebec coroner has recommended in a final report into deaths at long-term care homes during the pandemic's first wave.
-
Quebec should 'ideally' aim for 100,000 immigrants per year, says CPQ
Quebec should aim to welcome 100,000 immigrants per year, according to the Conseil du patronat (CPQ).
-
Gas prices: Montreal reaches another record high of $2.15 per litre
Montreal commuters woke up to spiking gas prices as some stations' price for regular is currently a record high and over $2.15-per-litre.
Edmonton
-
Alta. man pleads guilty to 1st-degree murder in deaths of woman, toddler
The Alberta man accused of first-degree murder in the deaths of a 24-year-old woman and her 16-month-old child is due in court on Monday.
-
Trial to begin for father, son accused of killing Métis hunters in rural Alberta
A jury trial is to begin today for a man and his son who are accused of killing two Métis hunters.
-
Oilers calm, confident ahead of 'another level' Battle of Alberta
While many hockey fans in Edmonton were glued to the Calgary Flames Game 7 Sunday night, some Oilers players slept through it.
Northern Ontario
-
Ontario party leaders set to face off in election debate
The Ontario election leaders debate is happening on Monday night. Here's how to watch it live.
-
Loose cows threatened at Old Woman Bay north of the Sault
Complaints about people hunting and shooting roaming cows in the area of Old Woman Road, on Highway 17 north of Sault Ste. Marie, were reported by the OPP in tweets late Saturday and early Sunday.
-
Three new forest fires discovered in northeast
Three new forest fires were discovered in northeastern Ontario
London
-
Suspects arrested after stolen pick-up strikes school bus Monday morning
Two suspects have been arrested by members of the OPP in relation to a stolen pick-up truck that rear-ended a school bus in London, Ont. on Monday morning.
-
Vehicle struck by bullet in south London, Ont.
The call came in just before midnight and police responded to the area of Wellington Road south and Bradley Avenue.
-
Spring weather returns to London, Ont., but isolated thunderstorms possible
It felt like mid-summer across southern Ontario this weekend after a strong ridge of high pressure pushed the daytime high temperature into the upper twenties, but spring-like temperatures have returned to the Forest City — and with it, a risk of thunderstorms.
Winnipeg
-
Community cut off after flooding washes out roads in western Manitoba
Flooding that has washed out many roads and bridges in a section of western Manitoba has cut off one community from the outside world.
-
Homicide investigation launched after human remains found in North Kildonan: WPS
Winnipeg police say human remains found in North Kildonan early Monday morning are believed to be the result of a homicide.
-
Two Winnipeg teachers among recipients of Governor General’s History Awards
Two Winnipeg teachers and a Manitoba-born judge are among the winners of this year’s Governor General’s History Awards.
Ottawa
-
Canada Day celebrations moving from Parliament Hill
The Canada Day main stage will be at LeBreton Flats park just west of downtown Ottawa this year, not on Parliament Hill.
-
Ottawa's Terry Fox statue to move to make way for new parliamentary building
The Terry Fox statue across from Parliament Hill will need to be moved to make way for a new building to house MPs and senators, committee rooms and an Indigenous Peoples' space.
-
WATCH LIVE
WATCH LIVE | Storms could bring up to 50 mm of rain in Ottawa
It will be a rainy day in the capital on Monday with a risk of a thunderstorm later today.
Saskatoon
-
Rising fuel costs a challenge in search for missing Sask. boy
The rising cost of fuel is complicating the nearly month-long search for a missing Saskatchewan boy continues.
-
Where most police street checks happen in Saskatoon
Saskatoon Police Service says all of the 189 contact interviews conducted by its officers last year complied with policy.
-
Political movement 'Saskatchewan United' attempting to gain party recognition
Former Sask. Party MLA turned Independent Nadine Wilson and former federal Minister of Agriculture Gerry Ritz are both involved with the 'Saskatchewan United' movement.
Vancouver
-
Refund requests for COVID-19 travel cancellations dismissed by B.C. tribunal
Multiple travellers seeking refunds for trips cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic recently had their complaints dismissed by a B.C. tribunal.
-
Metro Vancouver in for another round of wet, windy weather
People in Metro Vancouver are being told to brace for strong winds and heavy rain starting Tuesday evening.
-
Suspect arrested, charged after 2 women groped in downtown Vancouver
A 23-year-old man has been arrested and charged after two women were groped in a busy area of downtown Vancouver in broad daylight.
Regina
-
Regina's mayor met with PM Trudeau in Ottawa Monday
Regina Mayor Sandra Masters met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Ottawa on Monday to discuss a number of topics including ongoing infrastructure projects and social initiatives.
-
Sask. government ramps up development on potential hydrogen hub
The Saskatchewan government has begun work on a foundation report study ramping up development on a potential hydrogen hub in the Regina-Moose Jaw region.
-
Rising fuel costs a challenge in search for missing Sask. boy
The rising cost of fuel is complicating the nearly month-long search for a missing Saskatchewan boy continues.
Vancouver Island
-
BC Ferries adds 110 sailings in anticipation of busy long weekend
BC Ferries is planning to add 110 extra sailings to its schedule over what is expected to be a busy May long weekend.
-
Canadian WWII flying ace 'Stocky' Edwards dies
One of Canada's most successful Second World War flying aces, James "Stocky" Edwards of Comox, B.C., has died at the age of 100.
-
Hallmark TV series films final season of hit series on Vancouver Island
The feeling is bittersweet on the Mid-Island as the hit Hallmark Channel series Chesapeake Shores begins filming its sixth and final season in the region.