Toronto Trio Demonstrating in Ottawa: We're Here for Our Grandkids

Breitbart News spoke with Dimitrios, George, and John — three Canadian demonstrators from Toronto — during the Freedom Convoy gathering in Ottawa, ON, on Thursday.

“I came here because the most important thing in my life right now are my grandkids and their freedom,” George said. He wore a sign with a message highlighting the centrality of truckers to Canada’s supply chain: “If you got it, a truck brought it. Support our truckers. STOP the mandates.”

He noted how “illegal lockdowns” issued via governmental decrees are “destroying small businesses throughout and many countries around the world.”

He described the atmosphere of the demonstration as unifying. “The number one thing that I’ve noticed is the unity, finally, of the Canadian people who are uniting for the bigger cause, which is our freedom and our God-given rights,” he stated.

John shared similar motivations for his visit to the nation’s capital city.

A truck with banners is seen parked in front of Parliament of Canada as demonstrators continue to protest the vaccine mandates implemented by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on February 10, 2022, in Ottawa, Canada. (Photo by Dave Chan / AFP via Getty Images)

“I’m supporting freedom,” he declared. “I’m supporting the truckers that came here and started this whole thing, and I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart, because, as George said, I have kids and grandkids, and we just want to be free.”

He added, “We want to get it over with and just go back to our lives. That’s all we need.”

John wore a sign mocking Prime Minister Justin Trudeau with the “How It Started vs. How it’s Going” meme. The sign contrasted Trudeau’s initial dismissal of public opposition to his conduct as relegated to a “small fringe minority” with his subsequent framing of ongoing protests in large Canadian cities as a national emergency.

Dimitrios invited observers to read a sign he wore with the message: “FREEDOM NOW! NOT Tomorrow NOT Next Week NOW!!!”

He shared examples of how governmental restrictions of constitutional rights marketed as “public health” measures have impacted him.

“When my mother was infected by the virus back in May, I couldn’t go and see her for 11 days in the Michael Garron Hospital,” he shared. “The second-most-important [example is that] I lost more than 60 to 70 percent of my business. What else should I say?”