Hundreds have joined CAF veteran James Topp on the final kilometers of his march from Vancouver to the Canadian war memorial in Ottawa to protest the government’s mandates.

“Please conduct yourself accordingly. Act with dignity at all times,” Topp announced while instructing the crowd. “… Do not respond to any provocation. Do we understand each other?”

“Yes, sir,” the crowd responded.

“We conduct ourselves with dignity, strength, and endurance at all times,” Topp continued. “[If] you’re having issues, get a hold of somebody. Make sure you have water and food, mind the traffic, [and] be safe. Keep your head up, don’t block intersections, and, at all times, look out for each other.”

Reporting live from the scene for The Counter Signal, journalist Andy Lee recorded hundreds who congregated early this morning to join and support James Topp on his march outside Ottawa.

Notably in attendance before the march took off was PPC leader Maxime Bernier, with Conservative leadership frontrunner Pierre Poilievre joining the march soon after.

“I support freedom of choice; I always have and believe people should have the ability to decide for themselves on these matters,” Poilievre told Topp. “We should be free Canadians that can decide what we put in our bodies, decide what we think, decide who we are as people and restore the freedom that brought so many millions of immigrants to this country in the first place.”

James Topp began his march to Ottawa in late February, just as PM Justin Trudeau was invoking the Emergencies Act to quash Canadians’ right to protest and peaceful assembly.

On June 15, Conservative leadership candidate Roman Baber also joined Topp on his march, traversing just over 15km.

The march is estimated to be 4,293 km and will conclude today when Topp reaches the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Ottawa.