Chapter 86: Emergencies Act

329      blockaded the Ambassador Bridge  Michael Harris, “Poilievre’s Big Bet on Convoy-Loving Politics,” The Tyee, April 5, 2023,” thetyee.ca/Analysis/2023/04/05/Poilievre-Big-Bet-On-Convoy-Politics.
 
329      $300 million and $450 million . . . every day  Harris, “Poilievre’s Big Bet on Convoy-Loving Politics,” thetyee.ca/Analysis/2023/04/05/Poilievre-Big-Bet-On-Convoy-Politics.
 
329      busiest commercial crossing in all of North America  Transport Canada, “16: Economic Impact of the Blockades,” briefing binder for TRAN Committee appearance, February 17, 2022, accessed October 29, 2025, tc.canada.ca/en/binder/16-economic-impact-blockades. 
 
329      diverted . . . to Port Huron’s Blue Water Bridge . . . with traffic Frank Witsil et al., “Police, Protesters Still at Ambassador Bridge Blockade as Night Falls,” Detroit Free Press, February 11, 2022, www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2022/02/10/trucker-protest-detroit-ambassador-bridge-gretchen-whitmer/6733483001/.
 
329      forced the closure . . . Emerson, Manitoba, and Pembina, North Dakota  Paula Newton, “The Canadian Protesters Aren’t Just Truckers: Here’s Who Has Been Showing Up and What They Want,” CNN, February 11, 2022, www.cnn.com/2022/02/07/americas/canada-covid-protest-explainer/index.html.
 
329      blocked the main border crossing between Montana and Alberta  Harris, “Poilievre’s Big Bet on Convoy-Loving Politics,” thetyee.ca/Analysis/2023/04/05/Poilievre-Big-Bet-On-Convoy-Politics; Justin Franz, “Vaccine Mandate Protesters Block Canadian Border North of Shelby,” Montana Free Press, February 2, 2022, montanafreepress.org/2022/02/02/vaccine-mandate-protesters-block-canadian-border.
 
329      about $56 million . . . per day  Harris, “Poilievre’s Big Bet on Convoy-Loving Politics,” thetyee.ca/Analysis/2023/04/05/Poilievre-Big-Bet-On-Convoy-Politics.
 
329      orchestrated distance . . . as he embraced the Ottawa demonstrators Catherine Lévesque, “Poilievre Says Inquiry Has Not Changed His Support for ‘Peaceful and Law-Abiding’ Freedom Convoy Protesters,” National Post, November 9, 2022, nationalpost.com/news/poilievre-freedom-convoy-protesters.
 
329      invoked the Emergencies Act to end . . . Bill Chappell and Jonathan Franklin, “Canadian Government Is Invoking Its Emergencies Act to Try to Quell COVID Protests,” NPR, updated February 14, 2022, www.npr.org/2022/02/14/1080632899/bank-freezes-funds-canadian-border-protest.
 
329      arrested many . . . seizing their vehicles and weapons  Rob Gillies and Ted Shaffrey, “Canada’s Trudeau Invokes Emergency Powers to Quell Protests,” Associated Press (AP) News, February 14, 2022, apnews.com/article/canada-protest-police-reopen-border-bridge-6520c4d63add7a9d9342cffde1e4190e; and “Sell Vehicles Towed During Protest to Cover City’s Costs, says Watson,” CBC News, February 20, 2022, www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-protests-sell-vehicles-watson-1.6358555.
 
329–330 the first time since it was passed in 1988 Ian Austen and Dan Bilefsky, “Trudeau Declares Rare Public Emergency to Quell Protests,” New York Times, February 14, 2022, updated February 16, 2022, www.nytimes.com/2022/02/14/world/americas/justin-trudeau-emergencies-act-canada.html.
 
329–330 assumed the power to . . . and freeze protesters’ bank accounts  Nadine Yousif, “Trial Begins for Canada ‘Freedom Convoy’ Organisers,” BBC News, September 5, 2023, www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66678135.
 
330      on Parliament Hill between February 18 and 20 See Wynne Davis, “Police Clear Protesters Around Canada’s Parliament Building,” NPR, February 19, 2022, www.npr.org/2022/02/19/1081965235/ottawa-canada-protests; Catharine Tunney and Christian Paas-Lang, “Ottawa Police Close In on Final Protesters, Vow to Hold All Participants Accountable,” CBC News, February 19, 2022, last updated February 20, 2022, www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-convoy-protest-fourth-weekend-1.6358094; and Aya Elamroussi et al., “Canadian Authorities Freeze Financial Assets for Those Involved in Ongoing Protests in Ottawa,” CNN, February 20, 2022, www.cnn.com/2022/02/20/americas/canada-trucker-protest-covid-sunday.
 
330      were all arrested  Yousif, “Trial Begins for Canada ‘Freedom Convoy’ Organisers,” www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66678135; and Jessica Murphy, “Canada Trucker Protests Organiser Gets Three-Months House Arrest,” BBC News, February 19, 2025, www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy7x63685p2o.
 
330      moved their encampments to rural areas  Dylan Dyson, “‘Freedom Convoy’ Protesters Regroup in Rural Communities Surrounding Ottawa,” CTV News, February 22, 2022, www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/article/freedom-convoy-protesters-regroup-in-rural-communities-surrounding-ottawa.
 
330      “I’m a believer in using simple Anglo-Saxon words . . .”  Jordan B Peterson, “Canada’s Biggest Problems | Pierre Poilievre | EP 253,” YouTube, May 16, 2022, youtu.be/C51jWWcrFc0?si=RXiVUri0ENsasgUL, 27:58–28:15.
 
330      murdered ten African Americans  The Associated Press,   “Buffalo Shooter Sentenced to Life for Killing 10 Black Victims in Emotional Hearing,” CBC News, February 15, 2023, www.cbc.ca/news/world/buffalo-supermarket-shooter-sentenced-1.6748950.
 
330      “Here is Pat King, a leader of the convoy . . .”  Patrick Brown, Twitter, May 15, 2022, 5:40 p.m., x.com/patrickbrownont/status/1525954397355708416.
 
330      “There’s an end game. It’s called depopulation of . . ."  YCVE-Archive, Twitter, August 9, 2019, 9:17 p.m., x.com/VestsCanada/status/1159997274900041729, 00:09–00:16.
 
330      “infiltrate by flooding with refugees” . . . “infiltrate the education systems . . .”  YCVE-Archive, Twitter, August 9, 2019, x.com/VestsCanada/status/1159997274900041729, 1:12–1:37.
 
330      “sleazy” . . . “atrocity” to his political advantage  Pierre Poilievre quoted in Catherine Cullen, “Conservatives Condemn Racist Conspiracy Theory, Attack Each Other over Buffalo Shooting,” CBC News, May 16, 2022, www.cbc.ca/news/politics/conservatives-racist-conspiracy-theory-1.6455471.
 
330      “the so-called ‘white replacement theory’ . . .” Poilievre quoted in Cullen, “Conservatives Condemn Racist Conspiracy Theory, Attack Each Other over Buffalo Shooting,” www.cbc.ca/news/politics/conservatives-racist-conspiracy-theory-1.6455471.
 
330      won a first-ballot-victory . . . to lead Canada’s Conservative Party  Stephanie Taylor, “Pierre Poilievre Elected Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada,” Global News, September 10, 2022, globalnews.ca/news/9120431/pierre-poilievre-elected-leader-of-the-conservative-party-of-canada.
 
330      with little support A Leger poll conducted the week after Poilievre’s election to lead the Conservative Party in September 2022 found that just 3% of surveyed voters said they would vote for Bernier’s People’s Party of Canada “if the federal election were held today.” Only 3% of participants stated that Bernier “would make the best prime minister of Canada.” Leger, “Canadian Federal Politics—September 20, 2022,” September 20, 2022, leger360.com/canadian-federal-politics-september-2022.
 
330–331  “restoring the Canada we love”  Pierre Poilievre, X, September 16, 2023, 1:29 p.m., x.com/PierrePoilievre/status/1703098770320130338, archived at archive.today, February 9, 2026 capture, archive.ph/wip/aD5ED.
 
331       “going to be much lower, especially . . .” Pierre Poilievre quoted in Isaac Lamoureux, “Poilievre Says Immigration Will Be ‘Much Lower’ If He’s Elected,” True North, June 22, 2024, tnc.news/2024/06/22/poilievre-immigration-lower. 
 
331        tied immigration to housing shortages  “It’s impossible to invite 1.2 million new people to Canada every year,” Poilievre said. “When you’re building 200,000 housing units, it’s impossible. There’s no room. Quebec is at its breaking point.” Poilievre quoted in Lamoureux, “Poilievre Says Immigration Will Be ‘Much Lower’ If He’s Elected,” tnc.news/2024/06/22/poilievre-immigration-lower.
 
331       promoted immigrants to leadership roles Stephanie Taylor, “Pierre Poilievre Thinks He Can Win Over New Canadians: Here’s How He Plans to Do It,” CBC News, December 18, 2022, globalnews.ca/news/9120431/pierre-poilievre-elected-leader-of-the-conservative-party-of-canada.
 
331       a double-digit polling lead  See “How Has Support Changed over Time?” in “Poll Tracker,” CBC News, April 27, 2025, newsinteractives.cbc.ca/elections/poll-tracker/canada/.
 
331       did not immediately alter  Trudeau's resignation in early January 2025 did not immediately erase the Conservatives’ double-digit lead. However, in the long-run, Trudeau's resignation and replacement by Mark Carney was a key reason why polling subsequently shifted in the Liberals’ favor. On Trudeau’s resignation, see Mike Wendling et al., “Canada’s Justin Trudeau Cites ‘Internal Battles’ as He Ends Nine-Year Run,” BBC News, January 6, 2025, www.bbc.com/news/articles/c878ryr04p8o. On Trudeau’s resignation not immediately dismantling support for Conservatives, see Ipsos, “Trudeau’s Departure Hasn’t Changed Liberal Prospects,” January 8, 2025, www.ipsos.com/en-ca/trudeaus-departure-hasnt-changed-liberal-prospects; and Ipsos, “Liberals Narrow Gap with Conservatives,” February 6, 2025, www.ipsos.com/en-ca/liberals-narrow-gap-conservatives. On Carney’s election to lead the Liberal Party, see Promit Mukherjee and Ismail Shakil, “Mark Carney Wins Race to Replace Trudeau as Canada’s Prime Minister,” Reuters, March 10, 2025, www.reuters.com/world/americas/canada-liberals-announce-trudeaus-successor-midst-us-trade-war-2025-03-09. On the long-run impacts of Trudeau’s resignation and his replacement by Mark Carney, see “How Has Support Changed over Time?” newsinteractives.cbc.ca/elections/poll-tracker/canada/.