Convoy opposing trucker vaccine mandate draws large crowd, concerns over comparison to Holocaust

A truck convoy heading to Ottawa in protest of COVID-19 vaccination mandates and pandemic restrictions rolled through Winnipeg Tuesday afternoon.

A cross-Canada freedom convoy in opposition of a federal vaccine mandate for truckers arrived in Winnipeg to a large and boisterous crowd of hundreds of people but some were left disappointed when the convoy couldn’t stop Tuesday afternoon to greet them due to traffic safety reasons.

People and long lines of vehicles gathered on both shoulders of Highway 1 in Headingley, just west of Winnipeg to show support.

An RCMP officer on scene said police along with convoy organizers both decided it was unsafe for the group to stop because there were so many people along the road and there was no room for the trucks to stop in the Flying J truck stop which was supposed to serve as a pit stop for the rally.

“It’s just simply for safety,” said RCMP Sgt. Mark Hume, who was one of several officers on scene directing traffic on the highway near the truck stop.

The RCMP blocked the entrance to the truck stop and the convoy carried on east.

“There’s too many people gathered in there, too many vehicles,” Hume said. “We’ve talked to the organizer on the road and he said he can’t fit his semis in there.”

“It’s just the parking lot filled up. We had every intention of not stopping them but there’s too many people. We’re going to get people run over. They don’t think they can swing the corner with their semis and fit in there so they said they wanted to keep going through.”