'So many angry people': Experts say online conversation around trucker convoy veering into dangerous territory
'So many angry people': Experts say online conversation around trucker convoy veering into dangerous territory
As a growing group of truckers and supporters make their way to Ottawa in a protest against vaccine mandates, experts say the rhetoric online concerning the convoy is getting increasingly worrisome.
The group of truckers and concerned citizens began a cross-country trip to Ottawa over the weekend, in protest of vaccine mandates in the country. The group expects to arrive in Ottawa this Saturday.
The movement has since gathered steam nationwide, as videos show highway gatherings in support of the truckers, but some experts worry the online conversation surrounding the convoy has veered into dangerous territory.
“There are people who genuinely believe that this is overreach by the federal government, but there are also a lot of other groups that are involved and individuals who are involved who have a long history of very overheated rhetoric,” Kurt Phillips, founder and former lead writer for Anti-Racist Canada, told CTVNews.ca in a recent phone interview.
Organizers for the convoy insist they are abiding the laws and intend for a peaceful rally in Ottawa this weekend.
Even though the organizers say it will be peaceful, Phillips said he’s seen people online calling the trucker convoy Canada’s version of the U.S. Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, for the truckers to ram their trucks into Parliament, and people encouraging the hanging of politicians.
“Some of the organizers are trying to get people to dial back the rhetoric, but the genie's already out of the bottle,” he said. “People are energized in an incredible way right now, and it's hard to see something not happening. I don't know if it would be on the scale of Jan. 6 in the United States, but there are so many angry people.”
Peter Smith, a journalist working with the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, said he’s seeing a lot of similarities between this latest convoy and a similar truck convoy from 2019 that was meant to protest federal pipeline policies.
“Right from the start, the largest groups … have been organized and managed by people who have connections to those types of groups like the Yellow Vests, the separatist Western movements,” he said. “So right from the start, this began as part of fringe politics.”
Smith said he’s seen people using the movement to accuse politicians of pedophilia and to accuse the government of being illegitimate.
“This has become the focus of the far right,” Smith said. “It's not to say that there's not people involved who have a ‘heart-in-the-right-place’ mentality, but this has become -- like the health restrictions -- an important opportunity to capitalize on people's justifiable discontent with the government.”
“Whatever happens in this movement, this protest will be a propaganda tool that's probably used for years.”
The rhetoric has also engulfed some politicians. Former Conservative leader Andrew Scheer called Prime Minister Justin Trudeau the “biggest threat to freedom in Canada,” while Pierre Poilievre, Conservative MP in the Ottawa region, recently called the truckers vaccine mandate a “vaccine vendetta.” People’s Party of Canada Leader Maxime Bernier called Canada’s COVID-19 measures “fascist” and “authoritarian.”
The convoy has even gathered the attention of Donald Trump Jr.
“When we push back against the insanity, we can win, and that’s how all this ends,” he said in a Facebook video.
“This is a genius idea. We need to see more of this in the U.S.”
Smith said that while the language used by some politicians is far from the most extreme comments he’s seen, it’s these comments that can lend credence to the more extreme sentiments.
“The main organizers have been explicit about saying there won't be violence, but you look at some of the streams and comments made by others -- many of whom are planning to attend -- they're almost hoping for it,” he said.
Phillips said a lot of people from different groups that would not normally associate with each other have banded together on this instance, in part because so much money has been raised.
“They seem to be gravitating towards this for a variety of reasons, might be because of the energy that's involved in it. It might be for the grift, the chance of making a profit off of it,” he said.
The battle against hundreds of wildfires continues, as almost every jurisdiction in Canada remains under either heat or air quality warnings from the federal government. The day after what was supposed to be national Clean Air Day, dozens of alerts remain in place for unseasonable heat or smoky air quality.
An official recommendation to wear a mask to protect yourself from wildfire smoke is being echoed by health experts as plumes of smoke make their way across parts of Canada, causing poor air quality.
A leader of the fight to secure freedom for a Canadian human-rights activist detained in China for 17 years is taking the latest diplomatic deep-freeze between Ottawa and Beijing in stride.
Internal emails from the agency tasked with regulating the price of patented drugs in Canada shows discord and division was sparked by a letter from the health minister, culminating in an indefinite pause on major drug-price reforms and several resignations.
Aviation experts say Canada is losing expertise in the manufacturing of water bombers -- just as demand for them is increasing. The Canadair CL-415, a purpose-built water bomber, was last produced in 2015.
The man who was found not criminally responsible in the stabbing deaths of five people at a house party in Brentwood more than nine years ago is seeking more freedoms.
Some of the world's top players are teeing off at the RBC Canadian Open today amid the hotly debated LIV Golf-PGA Tour controversy that shook the golf world this week.
Heat or air quality warnings countrywide, new Nanos polling shows most Canadians support an inquiry into foreign interference, and the Bank of Canada hikes rates again.
About 300 infants, toddlers and older children have been rescued from an orphanage in Sudan's capital after being trapped there while fighting raged outside, aid officials said Thursday. The evacuation came after 71 children died from hunger and illness in the facility since mid-April.
Post tropical storm Fiona showed how quickly Canadians can be displaced by climate change. W5 looks into whether more people living in vulnerable areas will have to consider moving in the years to come.
Convicted murderer Daniel Jolivet, in prison for the past 30 years, has maintained his innocence since the day he was arrested. W5 reviews the evidence he painstakingly assembled while behind bars.
W5 Producer Shelley Ayres explains how she was in awe to meet what the Guinness Book of World Record's has named the World's Tallest Teenager, a 17-year-old from Quebec who plays for Team Canada.
CTV W5 investigates what authorities knew about plans to smuggle cocaine out of the Dominican Republic on a Toronto-bound Pivot Airlines flight. The airline's crew is demanding justice following their eight-month detention.
Gordie Sampson has written hit songs for some of the biggest names in country music, including Carrie Underwood and Luke Bryan. CTV W5 speaks with the Grammy winner from small-town Nova Scotia about his creative process.
Ontario is set to increase the wages of early childhood educators in a bid to boost recruitment and retention amid a staff shortage that advocates warn could hamper the growth of the national $10-a-day child-care program.
After weeks of hearing dozens of candidates make their pitches for why they think they should become Toronto’s next mayor, voters will finally have a chance to walk into a polling station and cast their ballots starting today.
The Ottawa Real Estate Board says home sales were up six per cent in May 2023 compared to a year prior, marking the first year-over-year unit sales volume increase since early last year.
Environment Canada has issued a special air quality statement for Ottawa, with the air quality at 10+ "very high risk" Wednesday morning. Conditions improved in the afternoon.
The shifting winds late Thursday morning are predicted to push high levels of air pollution over the City of Barrie and surrounding areas from smoke emanating from wildfires in Quebec and northeastern Ontario.
Barrie city councillors got a shocking but not surprising reality check into the affordability challenges facing many residents looking to put a roof over their heads.
There's high levels of air pollution in Waterloo region and Wellington County as smoke plumes from wildfires burning in Quebec and northeastern Ontario continue to blow into the region, Environment Canada says.
Kitchener is hosting a series of watch parties to cheer on basketball star Jamal Murray as his Denver Nuggets take on the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.
According to CTV News London’s Meteorologist Julie Atchison, a large area of low pressure over the Canadian Maritimes and a blocking ridge over central North America is allowing a steady flow of northerly air to usher in smoke from forest fires in Northern Ontario and Quebec.
Students at Sir Frederick Banting Secondary School in London, Ont. are being investigated after a video was posted online showing students tearing down a LGBTQ2S+ pride flag.
Since early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the Honk Mobile Parking App has offered two hours of free municipal parking in London’s core area business districts.
According to Environment Canada, smoke plumes from forest fires in Quebec and northeastern Ontario have resulted in deteriorated air quality and poor air quality will persist into the weekend.
The body of a woman reported missing in January has been found by Windsor police and her mother is struggling with the confirmation that her daughter is gone.
The man in the spotlight during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic in Quebec, Dr. Horacio Arruda, has been appointed assistant deputy minister at the Ministry of Health and Social Services.
An Ontario man has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Claudia Iacono, the daughter-in-law of Mafia associate Moreno Gallo, after she was gunned down at the wheel of her car in Montreal last month.
Hundreds of American firefighters have recently arrived in Canada to help battle wildfires and more are on the way, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday.
Irving Oil says it’s undertaking a “strategic review” with an eye to its future. In a release Wednesday, the company says it’s looking at a number of options, including the sale of its assets.
The father of disabled teen from Fall River, N.S. is calling on all sides to get back to the bargaining table and put an end to the Halifax area CUPE educational support worker strike.
The closure of Fort Gibraltar following the collapse of an elevated walkway that sent 16 students and one teacher to hospital has left some couples scrambling to find a place to get married.
Calgary city council has reconsidered its decision to vote against recommendations made by an expert panel to address the city’s housing affordability crisis.
Police say a man on a mobility scooter has life-altering injuries after he was struck by a vehicle in a northeast Calgary intersection on Wednesday evening.
The Archdiocese of Edmonton will spend $3.2 million on reconciliation initiatives with First Nations, Métis and Inuit people in the Alberta capital region.
Drivers are being asked to find another way or prepare for delays on the Henday this weekend, because crews need to close a bridge over the North Saskatchewan River.
A human-caused wildfire on the Lower Mainland has grown to an estimated 800 hectares and continues to burn out of control Wednesday, according to the BC Wildfire Service.
Rental housing advocates interrupted an announcement by B.C.'s housing minister in Vancouver Wednesday morning to object to the provincial government's response to the affordability crisis.
Advances in artificial intelligence means software can generate accurate voice clones that sound just like the real thing, but that's putting some actors in a precarious position, including Vancouver's Bill Newton.
A leader of the fight to secure freedom for a Canadian human-rights activist detained in China for 17 years is taking the latest diplomatic deep-freeze between Ottawa and Beijing in stride.
Canadians are twice as likely to support a formal inquiry into foreign interference, as opposed to public hearings, according to new polling from Nanos Research for CTV News.
Hazy skies tinged with an eery yellow glow greeted millions of Canadians in Quebec and Ontario again Wednesday as the smoke from hundreds of wildfires continued to cause air quality warnings in Canada's most populated corridor. In a bizarre twist of fate, on a day when air quality was among the worst the country has ever seen, it was national Clean Air Day in Canada.
As forest fires rage across the country, experts are sounding the alarm over the physical and psychological impacts of the wildfires and saying that they pose a serious public health issue, which individuals and governments need to acknowledge and act upon.
Internal emails from the agency tasked with regulating the price of patented drugs in Canada shows discord and division was sparked by a letter from the health minister, culminating in an indefinite pause on major drug-price reforms and several resignations.
Being a 'sleep procrastinator' might not only make you grumpy the next day, it can put your health at risk. A sleep expert shares tips for making sure bedtime is shut-eye time.
The James Webb Space Telescope set its sights on a galaxy 20 million light-years away, capturing a dazzling star-forming galaxy in images streaked with the signature of passing asteroids.
Reporters are a skeptical bunch, so it was unusual to hear so many of them raving about their firsthand experience with Apple's next Big Thing: the high-priced headset called Vision Pro, a device infused with totally virtual reality as well as augmented reality that projects digital images on top of real-world settings.
As artificial intelligence programs such as ChatGPT offer new tools for creativity and content creation, one company is using AI-powered software in tandem with classic literature in a way you might not expect.
An actor known for his roles on the comedy television shows "Bob's Burgers" and "Mr. Show with Bob and David" was arrested Wednesday on charges that he joined a mob of Donald Trump supporters in confronting police officers during the U.S. Capitol riot, court records show.
Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson released the first episode of his new show on Twitter on Tuesday, weeks after being taken off the air by the network following a damaging defamation lawsuit over false claims of election fraud.
Aviation experts say Canada is losing expertise in the manufacturing of water bombers -- just as demand for them is increasing. The Canadair CL-415, a purpose-built water bomber, was last produced in 2015.
Montana became the first state in the U.S. to enact a complete ban on TikTok on Wednesday when Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte signed a measure that's more sweeping than any other state's attempts to curtail the social media app, which is owned by a Chinese tech company.
Years ago, when my now-grown daughter Justine was a toddler, we visited a U-pick farm where she plucked plump, ripe strawberries from a field of sprawling plants. Some made it into the basket on that sunny June day; others went directly into her mouth.
With the stench of smoke permeating Yankee Stadium and wafting through its walkways, Major League Baseball postponed games in New York and Philadelphia on Wednesday night because of poor air quality caused by Canadian wildfires.
Some of the world's top players are teeing off at the RBC Canadian Open today amid the hotly debated LIV Golf-PGA Tour controversy that shook the golf world this week.
Brittney Griner had a Texas homecoming, in private and on the court with the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA star's home state six months after her release from a Russian prison.
A group of climate activists claimed responsibility on Wednesday for deflating the tires of sport utility vehicles in Denmark's capital. More than 100 vehicles were vandalized, police said.
Insurance industry group Equite Association says vehicle theft in multiple provinces surged last year. Vehicle theft was up by 50 per cent in Quebec year over year, by 48.3 per cent in Ontario, by 34.5 per cent in Atlantic Canada and by 18.3 per cent in Alberta.
