On January 28, 2022, hundreds of vehicles carrying thousands of protesters entered Ottawa and occupied the city for over four weeks before police succeeded in dispersing crowds on February 20. Participants were spotted carrying hate symbols such as swastikas and Confederate flags. Residents of Ottawa were targeted by protesters who engaged in harassing speech, assault, and mischief for the duration of the demonstration.
Similar movements across the country appeared under the umbrella of the Freedom Convoy. Demonstrators in Toronto began to gather around Queen’s Park on February 5, prompting Toronto Police to indefinitely close roads leading towards the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.
Protest organisers gathered donations through the online fundraising platforms GoFundMe and
GiveSendGo. By February 3, over $10 million had been collected through GoFundMe before the campaign was suspended for violating GoFundMe’s terms of service. Another $12 million was raised through an alternative crowdfunding platform known as GiveSendGo. These funds were frozen by an Ontario court on February 10.
On February 13, the leak website Distributed Denial of Secrets published a list of donors to the Freedom Convoy obtained from a GoFundMe database. Twelve members of the University of Toronto community appeared on the list, including three professors, one graduate student, and three alumni. Two of the three professors identified did not respond to The Strand’s request for comment. One of the professors confirmed that they donated to the Freedom Convoy, stating, “my views are nuanced.”
The Strand asked a student at the University of Toronto on how she felt that members of the University’s faculty had been identified as donors to the Freedom Convoy. “That’s really, really disappointing,” she told The Strand. “Really disgusting.”
The student shared some interactions between her friends and the protesters during the demonstrations with The Strand. “A few of my friends were just walking in the area and one girl got called a bitch. They were yelled at, it was not a safe or positive environment at all.” She added, “it was upsetting to see something like that happen so close to UofT. It just made it hit home a lot more.” The student requested to remain anonymous after the interview.
In response to protests around Queen’s Park, the University’s Vice-President and Provost Cheryl Regehr issued statements advising students and faculty members to “avoid the Queen’s park area” and “remain vigilant of the St. George campus.” The University also closed a number of buildings, including the John P. Robarts Research Library.
Toronto Police have not responded to The Strand’s inquiry on what measures, in addition to road closures, were taken to ensure public safety near Queen’s Park during the Freedom Convoy protests in Toronto at the time of publication. University of Toronto Campus Police referred The Strand to University of Toronto Media Relations, which also has not responded to inquiry requests.
