What started as a small group of trucks grew to include dozens of big rigs and thousands of people as the Quebec version of the ‘freedom convoy’ entered its third day in the provincial capital.
Large crows joined the truckers on Rene-Levesque Blvd. near the National Assembly to denounce the province’s health measures put in place to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Barricades put in place to control the crowd were pushed aside by protestors as more joined in.
“I’m here for them,” said a father of two attending the protest, pointing to his kids. “So they can start sports again. They don’t know what freedom is. We’re in chaos right now. We’ll continue demonstrating until we get our country back.”
Thousands have moved onto Blvd René Lévesque, the barricades the @SPVQ_police put in place have been moved aside by the protestors as the crowd swells. #TruckersConvoy2022 #polqc #qcpoli pic.twitter.com/NIzNtGy4Lt
— Ian Wood (@iangwood) February 5, 2022
Quxjmtzywebec City police (SPVQ) and the Surete du Quebec (SQ) were on hand to deliver tickets and ensure no one enters the National Assembly grounds.
The @SPVQ_police has closed the main roads around the National Assembly to the protest due to the sheer volume of people. They had originally hoped to keep them open with limited access. #TruckersConvoy2022 #qcpoli #polqc https://t.co/2HxjqXjcTV
— Ian Wood (@iangwood) February 5, 2022
Although the roads surrounding the National Assembly were initially kept open with limited access, police have now closed them completely to keep the swelling crowd at bay, with officers in riot gear forming a line on the lawn.
Police in riot gear have formed a line on the lawn of the National Assembly as the crowd below on the street swells, waving hands and flags and singing to Les Trois Accords’ “Saskatchewan” — saying Quebec should follow suit to commit to ending all Covid measures #FreedomConvoy pic.twitter.com/iNVePQgQod
— Andrew Brennan (@ABrennanCTV) February 5, 2022
Organizer Bernard “Rambo” Gauthier asked the protesters to remain peaceful and respect the police monitoring the event.
Manifestation de Québec : Rambo Gauthier invite les manifestants à demeurer pacifique. #NoovoInfo @villequebec pic.twitter.com/21bGCImOsD
— Philippe Couture (@philcout7) February 5, 2022
Police say 40 tickets were handed out on Friday, but that there were no major incidents.
It is the third day of protests in Quebec City following the lead of the major convoy in Ottawa that started a week ago, and joining others in Toronto, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Vancouver.
Police in Ottawa say as many as 400 trucks and 2,000 people will join the crowd in their city this weekend.
Quebec Premier Francois Legault said Friday he was confident a trucker protest planned in Quebec City for the weekend against COVID-19 public health orders wouldn’t be a repeat of what happened in Ottawa.
Legault said demonstrators would not be permitted to park their cars and trucks around the legislature and cause traffic chaos, adding that there would be zero tolerance for citizens being impeded from moving about freely, as the Quebec Winter Carnival kicked off on Friday.
“We may have benefited from the experience of what happened in Ottawa,” Legault said. “We will not at all tolerate trucks preventing citizens from circulating.”
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Trucks line Rene-Levesque Blvd. in Quebec City in support of the ‘freedom rally’ in Ottawa.
