Back in February 2022, the Freedom Convoy was forced to leave Ottawa. Yet, even though that occurred some two-and-a-half years ago, not every demonstrator went back home. Case in point: Brian, who now goes by the nickname, “The Trucker Who Never Left”. Brian continues to demonstrate in downtown Ottawa, sans truck, noting that “this [protest] is far from finished.”

We happened upon Brian and about a dozen of his allies last Friday on Elgin Street. They were directly situated across the road from the courthouse where Tamara Lich and Chris Barber were on trial earlier that day for those various mischief charges. (Incredibly, it was Day 44 of the proceedings, for those keeping score at home…)

Yet, why is Brian still in Ottawa, in the summer of 2024? He explains that during the days of the freedom convoy, the three most resounding messages he heard from supporters were: thank you very much; you’ve given us hope; please don’t leave. And to honour the wishes of those supporters, Brian never did.

And who knows? Perhaps Brian is ahead of the pandemic/protest curve? After all, there is much chatter these days about monkeypox (a.k.a., mpox) emerging as the next global pandemic. And golly, isn’t it a cosmic coincidence that monkeypox, much like COVID-19, is emerging as the next so-called clear and present danger just a few months away from an American presidential election?

Yet, Brian warns that if the powers-that-be in Ottawa put Canada into a full lockdown mode to fight monkeypox, he predicts that an even bigger convoy will descend upon the nation’s capital.

“Try it again [locking down the country] and that [2022] convoy is going to look like a picnic,” he says.

Check out our full interview with Brian, a.k.a., “The Trucker Who Never Left”.