Reported hack of convoy protest crowdfund reveals nearly 500 alleged Ottawa donors

Convoy donors revealed by cyber hack Ottawa donors to the convoy say it was an opportunity to express anger at the COVID mandates. CTV's Leah Larocque reports.

A database purporting to show donations made to the crowdfunding site GiveSendGo in support of the "Freedom Convoy" protest in Ottawa includes nearly 500 donations from people with Ottawa-area postal codes.

On Sunday night, GiveSendGo's main landing page was briefly replaced with a video manifesto against the ongoing protest that has shut down parts of downtown Ottawa, as well as several border crossings elsewhere in the country. It also included a spreadsheet with names, postal codes, email addresses, and donation amounts for tens of thousands of donors from Canada, the U.S. and a handful of other countries.

The spreadsheet includes 495 entries with Ottawa-area postal codes totalling $59,843. Donations range from $5 to a single $7,000 donation, allegedly from the president of a local development company. At this time, CTV News Ottawa is choosing not to name the individual, as they have not replied to a request for comment to confirm whether they made the donation.

CTV News Ottawa has attempted to contact many of the donors identified on the list, but most have not returned requests for comment.

The Montfort Hospital issued a brief statement on social media, distancing itself from one donor who identified themselves as a hospital worker.

"We have been informed of the financial support of a former hospital employee for the current events in Ottawa. This individual is no longer employed by nor affiliated with Montfort and has not been for several months," the Montfort Hospital said on Twitter. "We are obviously in favor of free speech, but we do not support these events, which continue to cause significant stress to our teams and our community."

A donation by an Emily Segal, which is the name of DavidsTea co-founder David Segal’s wife, prompted the company to reply to critics on social media saying David Segal has not been affiliated with DavidsTea since 2016.

In a tweet late Tuesday, the DavidsTea Twitter account tweeted: "We can confirm that we have not made any donations to these events. We focus our charitable efforts on local registered organizations & international partners active in the tea industry."

The vast majority of donations were for $100 or less. They came from postal codes all over the city, from downtown to the suburbs.

One person named on the list who replied to CTV News Ottawa's request for comment confirmed she donated to the protest.

"I believe in freedom of choice and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Peaceful protest is something to be respected in my opinion and I don’t think it’s appropriate to take away personal choice. If the vaccines prevented a person from getting and transmitting COVID I think there is a different debate to be had, but based on the evidence at hand I would say it goes back to personal choice," said Courtney Brown in an email.

According to the document, Brown donated $750.

"I work downtown and am in the heart of the protest. I have been here and don’t find it to be a large inconvenience. Even if I found it to be very disruptive (which I don’t really) I find the restrictions that have been placed on citizens by government to be far more disruptive. Closing schools, travel restrictions, stopping activities for children and adults, closing businesses etc I find to be much more disruptive," Brown wrote. "I don’t regret donating to people who are asking for our rights to be returned so long as it’s peaceful. If the protesters started rioting then yes I would regret trying to help. The only reason I helped was because of the interference with GoFundMe and the media’s misrepresentation of the protest… if it matters I am fully vaccinated."

Ottawa resident Branden Murdoch says he felt "moved" to donate.

"It was an opportunity, a mechanism for me to express some anger," he said.

Murdoch says he felt angry toward the federal government and not particular individuals.

"It was an outlet for me. When I read the message on the donor page, it resonated with me."

The fully vaccinated public servant says he does not support "policies that cause division in our society and segregation based on a medical choice."

Murdoch is a father of four and says federal travel vaccine mandates are preventing his family from being together. His extended family lives in British Columbia.

"Some of them are vaccinated, some are not. I, myself, am fully vaccinated. I would encourage people to do so, it is a safe and effective way at reducing symptoms," he says. "I have four young children; I have a new daughter and my parents can't come out and see their granddaughter because they are not vaccinated. They can’t get on an airplane to see her."

Murdoch says he respects his family's choice as well as others. "Seeing things happen like that within my immediate circle and seeing the kind of language our Prime Minister is using against (those who aren’t vaccinated), it doesn’t sit right with me and it made me feel angry. And donating to this cause and protest was an extension of that frustration."

GiveSendGo became the crowdfunding platform of choice for supporters of the "Freedom Convoy" movement following the cancellation of a $10 million fundraiser on GoFundMe, which said it would be refunding donors.

The GiveSendGo fundraiser managed to generate almost $9 million, according to organizers.

Last week, the province of Ontario announced it had successfully petitioned a court to freeze access to the money raised on GiveSendGo. TD Bank also said it would be surrendering to the court money that had not been refunded by GoFundMe, totalling about $1 million, as well as some $400,000 the group had accepted through direct donations.

The convoy protest has been occupying streets in Ottawa for more than two weeks. On Monday, some trucks moved out of residential areas and onto Wellington Street, as part of a deal brokered between Mayor Jim Watson and one of the protest organizers, Tamara Lich. A court injunction was granted Monday against noise, idling, and use of fireworks at the protest.

On Monday afternoon, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the use of the Emergencies Act for the first time in Canadian history to deal with the ongoing trucker convoy protests and blockades.

--With files from CTV News Ottawa's Graham Richardson and Leah Larocque.