On the ground: What was it really like in Ottawa during Saturday's MASSIVE Freedom Convoy protest?

On Saturday January 29, 2022 the Canadian truckers' Freedom Convoy — consisting of tens of thousands of transport trucks from all corners of the nation — began to converge on Canada's capital city of Ottawa, while hundreds of thousands of supporters came out to protest in the city's downtown, centred on Parliament Hill. 

There was an incredible degree of non-stop noise on the scene (honk) where truckers were parked end-to-end on the streets downtown.

The message from truckers and protesters was clear: End the COVID mandates. Lift the restrictions. Respect the people's rights, return their freedoms and let them govern their own lives.

The truckers with whom I spoke all vowed to remain parked blocking the streets of Ottawa "as long as it takes" until their demands of an end to restrictions are met.

But what was it like being there during the height of the crowds?

Honestly, it felt more like a massive celebration than a protest. 

The streets were PACKED with vehicles and crowds of supporters. People were happy and hopeful, full of energy and optimism. It was electric to be encompassed by so many passionate and kind individuals, who had all been isolated from others for so long due to government restrictions. The crowds were made up of people of all races and religions and ethnicities; people of all ages, many with their families or friends.

The energy in the air was palpable. The protest was all peaceful, all positive — and oh-so-polite amongst the mobs of people. Protesters picked up after themselves and neatly packed away their trash. Volunteers handed out free food and beverages that were donated by others in attendance. A heavy police presence was there in downtown Ottawa, but as was reported by True North, zero arrests were made over the weekend.

And the protest just kept going — getting bigger and louder as the day went on. It was an absolutely freezing-cold day (-20°C/-4°F) but that did not stop anyone.

Members of Parliament and senators were instructed by parliamentary security to hide (from the incredibly peaceful and polite crowd of protesting Canadians) and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau himself fled to an "undisclosed location" due to a supposedly heightened security threat.

Leading up to the event, and all throughout it — even as it continues now — countless legacy media journalists and left-leaning politicians have attempted to discredit the Truckers for Freedom movement, labelling the protest "far-right" or "terrorist." They wanted so badly for this to be Canada's 'January 6th' moment. Federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh claimed the protest espouses "extremist and dangerous views" and is a "white supremacist" movement. Justin Trudeau notoriously labelled the truckers and their supporters a "small, fringe minority” with “unacceptable views."

However, if you simply watch our coverage, you can see that such could not be further from the truth. And the agents provocateurs to be found in Ottawa could hardly blemish the colossal grassroots movement of regular everyday Canadians who were coming together over the cause of freedom — a movement of started by this convoy of simple, hardworking truckers, who just want to be free from the overreaching hand of state control.

Just hear from them for yourself.

Be sure to check out ConvoyReports.com for all of our Freedom Convoy coverage, as the story of Canada's protesting truckers continues to unfold. If you're able, please consider making a donation to support our independent journalism and honest on-the-ground coverage of stories like this across Canada.