Canadians mobilized in huge numbers yesterday, staging protests in every single province to demand Trudeau axe the carbon tax that’s hurting so many.
Videos have emerged showing that the pushback against the carbon tax is truly nationwide, with nearly every border crossing and several major cities hosting carbon tax protests yesterday.
Protests in Western Canada kick things off
Beginning in BC, a tractor-led convoy made its way down Highway 3 through the BC–Alberta border in beautiful Crowsnest Pass.
Speaking to reporters at a rally in Hope, B.C., where protesters stalled traffic on three highways, including the Trans-Canada Highway, PPC candidate Jeff Galbraith said, “We’ve had enough.”
“I think we got a lot of frustrated, disillusioned, disheartened, disenfranchised Canadians. A majority of Canadians… they feel they have no voice anymore.” [Link added for additional context]
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre also spoke to disgruntled Canadians ahead of a rally in Nanaimo, BC, sharing their discontent and calling the carbon tax hike a “cruel April Fools’ Day joke on Canadians.”
Moving eastwards, truckers staged a slow roll through Lloydminster, heading through the Alberta–Saskatchewan border. Video taken from the ground shows a seemingly endless line of trucks and other vehicles sounding off their horns as police sirens can be heard in the background.
Speaking to True North, Albertan protesters said that there’s currently “no departure date” and that they plan on protesting for weeks if that’s what it takes to have their message heard in Ottawa.
“We’re going to be camping out. There’s no departure date, let’s put it that way,” an organizer told True North at the protest staged in Calgary.
As for Saskatchewan, people rallied at both the Alberta–Saskatchewan border and the Saskatchewan–Manitoba border to wave Canadian flags and raise their “Axe the Tax” signs.
What are protesters saying?
In Regina, one demonstrator said, “[The carbon tax] will affect my ability to drive anywhere. I like to drive, and I’m not going to live in a 15-minute city where I got to take a bus.”
“We want this noticed federally,” another added, “and that’s why we’ve chosen to do this across Canada.”
A younger Canadian also expressed that the carbon tax was making it impossible for young people to afford to drive their first vehicles, effectively ruining a major part of their adolescence.
“I couldn’t afford gas when I turned 16. None of my friends are going to be able to drive,” he told reporters.
Protests continue in Eastern Canada
Of course, the nation’s capital wasn’t spared from carbon tax protests either. People showed up in massive numbers to march through Ottawa via Portage Bridge, forming a “human chain”, as shown by footage taken by Élie Cantin-Nantel.
The Alexandria Bridge in Gatineau, Quebec, received similar treatment.
Heading further east, all four Atlantic provinces were also sites of protests, with protesters again delaying traffic along major highways and border crossings.
As reported by The Counter Signal, videos from the protest along the Nova Scotia–New Brunswick border show long lines of semi-trucks with signs all demanding the same thing: end the carbon tax, with several donning Canadian flags along with customary “F*ck Trudeau” flags.
Speaking to reporters at the protest in Aulac, New Brunswick, mechanic Samuel Field said, “It’s important for me to stand up for [my customers] because I’m there to provide for them. I want us all to succeed. It’s not good what’s going on. Our industries are being destroyed; our communities are being destroyed; it’s hurting our families.”
Even in Canada’s smallest province, PEI, protesters assembled in large numbers to stage a carbon tax protest.
Newfoundland Premier Andrew Furey calls for emergency meeting
As for Newfoundland, the province’s Liberal premier was so distraught following the carbon tax protests that he sent a letter to Justin Trudeau to convene an emergency meeting regarding the carbon tax.
“Today, a gas-powered truck drives fishing gear to the wharf in a rural Newfoundland and Labrador community. After April 1, there will be an additional carbon tax, but that same truck must still drive fishing gear to the wharf,” Premier Furey wrote.
“There are no alternatives available. So, the key intent of this policy, to lower emissions, is not being achieved at this time.”
