Canadian truck drivers and pedestrians gathered to rally and protest on Parliament Hill against Canadian COVID-19 restrictions, which caused traffic and closures around the city.
Truck driver
A truck driver is a person who earns a living as the driver of a truck, which is commonly defined as a large goods vehicle (LGV) or heavy goods vehicle (HGV).
Canada convoy protest
The Canada convoy protest, known as the Freedom Convoy was a series of protests and blockades across Canada in early 2022, initially organized to oppose COVID-19 vaccine mandates for cross-border truck drivers. The movement quickly expanded to protest all COVID-19 restrictions and mandates. Beginning on January 22, 2022, hundreds of vehicles departed from various locations across Canada, converging in Ottawa on January 29 for a rally at Parliament Hill, joined by thousands of pedestrian protesters. Parallel demonstrations occurred in provincial capitals and at key border crossings with the United States.
Parliament Hill
Parliament Hill, colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern bank of the Ottawa River that houses the Parliament of Canada in downtown Ottawa, Ontario. It accommodates a suite of Gothic revival buildings whose architectural elements were chosen to evoke the history of parliamentary democracy. Parliament Hill attracts approximately three million visitors each year. The Parliamentary Protective Service is responsible for law enforcement on Parliament Hill and in the parliamentary precinct, while the National Capital Commission is responsible for maintaining the nine-hectare (22-acre) area of the grounds.
COVID-19 vaccination in Canada
COVID-19 vaccination in Canada is an ongoing, intergovernmental effort coordinated between the bodies responsible in the Government of Canada to acquire and distribute vaccines to individual provincial and territorial governments who in turn administer authorized COVID-19 vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. Provinces have worked with local municipal governments, hospital systems, family doctors and independently owned pharmacies to aid in part, or in full with vaccination rollout. The vaccination effort in full is the largest such immunization effort in the nation's history. The vaccination effort began December 14, 2020, and is currently ongoing.