Some 'freedom convoy' donors are using aliases of well-known Canadians
Despite bearing the names of some of Canada's most recognizable figures, some donations made out to a convoy on its way to Ottawa to protest vaccine mandates and other pandemic restrictions are not as they appear.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, are among individuals whose names have been used as aliases by donors contributing to the "freedom convoy" that plans to stage a protest on Parliament Hill this weekend.
Although some media reported that donations were at times made using the names of the Trudeaus, the Prime Minister's Office confirmed to CTVNews.ca that neither one has made a donation to the GoFundMe page.
In another case, Dr. David Fisman, a professor of epidemiology at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, took to Twitter after a $15,100 donation was apparently made in his name.
That donation isn't currently on the page's list of top donors, and Fisman also confirmed he did not contribute.
"Indeed, I am not a lawyer but I think 'personation' is illegal in Canada," he told CTVNews.ca in an email.
CTVNews.ca asked GoFundMe for a comment on the use of aliases when making donations but did not receive a response before publication.
The company's terms of service, as of Dec. 31, 2021, state that the list of donors is provided "as is," with GoFundMe making "no representations, warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or timelines of any donor list or any information contained therein."
The convoy, which has traversed the country on its way to Parliament Hill, has called for an end to vaccine mandates and public health restrictions brought about in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The protest began in part over a federal government mandate requiring cross-border Canadian truckers to quarantine if unvaccinated when returning to Canada. The United States also has launched a similar mandate.
Supporters have greeted the convoy along its way to Ottawa. Prime Minister Trudeau has previously noted that nearly 90 per cent of Canadian truckers are vaccinated, while decrying the "unacceptable views" of the "small fringe minority" heading to Ottawa.
A GoFundMe page, started in an effort to help truckers with the cost of the journey, namely for fuel as and any food or shelter that’s required, has raised well over $7 million to date from tens of thousands of donors.
This week, GoFundMe said it would release an initial $1 million in fundraising money to the organizers.
In a statement to CTVNews.ca, a company spokesperson said they are following a standard verification process to ensure the funds are distributed as stated by the organizer.
"Our goal is to protect the generosity of donors and ensure that all donations go to those intended," the spokesperson said.
"As part of our verification process, we require full transparency from the organizer about the flow of funds to ensure there's a clear plan and donors are informed on how the funds will be spent."
The organizers have since written on their fundraising page that despite stories saying the funds had been "frozen," the temporary hold was due to international banking regulations.
A look at the page's rolling list of top 100 donors showed that 37 made donations anonymously as of noon EST on Friday.
The largest donation to date, worth $25,022, also came from an anonymous donor.
Altogether, the 100 top donations, as of midday Friday, totalled more than $456,000. Of that, more than $198,000 or about 43 per cent were anonymous.
Anonymous donations are not a new feature on GoFundMe nor are they uncommon on that platform. Most of the top donors have names attached, including some purporting to be businesses.
Among those listed as top donors is Jodhveer Singh Dhaliwal, the brother-in-law of NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, who donated $13,000 donation to the convoy.
An NDP source speaking on background to CTV News said there was a misunderstanding around what the donation would be for and a process began to return the donation.
The amount was still visible on the top donations list as of noon Friday.
"I unequivocally disagree with him about this donation and told him so," Singh said in a statement about the donation.
"I am against this convoy and against the dangerous and divisive rhetoric we're seeing coming from it. I understand people are frustrated that we're still in this pandemic two years later. The best way to get out of this pandemic, and to keep ourselves, our families and our communities safe, is to get vaccinated and to listen to public health experts."
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Video shows suspect setting Toronto-area barbershop on fire
Video of a suspect lighting a Richmond Hill barbershop on fire earlier this week has been released by police.
'I have the will to live': N.B. woman needs double lung transplant
A New Brunswick woman suffering from sarcoidosis, a disease that limits your lung capacity, is in need of a double lung transplant.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Police officer hit by driver of fleeing vehicle in Toronto
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.
Premier Legault reiterates that McGill pro-Palestinian camp must be dismantled
Quebec Premier François Legault reiterated that the pro-Palestinian encampment at McGill University must be dismantled while police remain 'on the lookout for new developments.'
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Suter scores late goal, clinches series for Canucks
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
Local Spotlight
Twin Alberta Ballet dancers retire after 15 years with company
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three Quebec men from same family father hundreds of children
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
Here's how one of Sask.'s largest power plants was knocked out for 73 days, and what it took to fix it
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
Quebec police officer anonymously donates kidney, changes schoolteacher's life
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Canada's oldest hat store still going strong after 90 years
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Road closed in Oak Bay, B.C., so elephant seal can cross
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
B.C. breweries take home awards at World Beer Cup
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Kitchener family says their 10-year-old needs life-saving drug that cost $600,000
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.