London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 08, 2025

Canadian capital declares state of emergency over Freedom Convoy

Canadian capital declares state of emergency over Freedom Convoy

Ottawa mayor calls emergency due to ongoing anti-Covid mandate protests

Ottawa mayor Jim Watson has declared a state of emergency, citing “serious danger and threat to the safety and security of residents,” as Freedom Convoy truckers and their pedestrian supporters continue to occupy the capital. The move comes after Watson lamented earlier on Sunday that police have been outnumbered by the demonstrators, and indicated he wants the federal government to help squash the protest.

“The situation at this point is completely out of control because the individuals with the protest are calling the shots,” Watson told Newstalk radio. “They have far more people than we have police officers and I've indicated to the chief that we have to be much more nimble and proactive when it comes to these activities.”

"Declaring a state of emergency reflects the serious danger and threat to the safety and security of residents posed by the ongoing demonstrations and highlights the need for support from other jurisdictions and levels of government"


Before announcing the emergency, Watson pleaded with the federal government to “sit down and have some kind of a discussion, some kind of mediation to get this situation resolved because it’s now spreading across the country.”


Watson’s statements echoed an admission from Police Chief Peter Sloly on Saturday. “We do not have sufficient resources to adequately and effectively address this situation while adequately and effectively providing policing in this city,” the top cop said during a meeting with the Ottawa Police Services Board. Referring to the demonstration as a “siege,” he insisted it was “something that is different in our democracy than something I’ve ever experienced in my life.”


While Sloly has repeatedly claimed “all options are on the table,” PM Justin Trudeau last week ruled out deploying the military, acknowledging that such a response should be a matter of last resort. The protesters have promised to hold the line until the government repeals its vaccination mandates and QR code “health passports.”

Some 5,000 people and 1,000 vehicles descended on downtown Ottawa on Saturday, joining the multitudes already present on the tenth day of the ongoing demonstration. A smaller counter-protest took place at City Hall.

Police boasted that 450 tickets had been issued in the “red zone” around Parliament Hill since Saturday morning, though most were for minor infractions such as obstructed license plates, seatbelt violations, fireworks or cell phone usage. The Ottawa Police Service is also investigating alleged threats to public officials and a whopping 200 calls to its hate crime hotline, though they didn’t reveal the target of the “hate.”

The protesters have largely refrained from violence and property damage, though that hasn’t stopped Sloly and other opponents of the convoy from invoking the supposed “insurrection” Capitol riot of January 6th. Authorities have placed heavy barricades at key crossing points throughout downtown and closed roads in an effort to keep out the endless parade of trucks.


Attempts to divert trucks to the Ottawa Baseball Stadium to keep them out of downtown appear to have backfired, with the stadium turning into a “staging area” for the demonstrators with saunas and reportedly even bouncy castles for protesters’ children along with a refueling station and other supplies.

Organizers have indicated they plan to stay in Ottawa for the “long haul,” seeking donations from supporters to cover the costs of fuel, food and lodging. After fundraising platform GoFundMe froze $7 million in donations, they regrouped on Christian competitor GiveSendGo, overloading the platform’s servers as supporters rushed to pledge their money once more.

While Ontario has refused to budge regarding its Covid-19 restrictions, the provinces of Quebec and Saskatchewan have already rolled back some of their stricter measures, while Alberta announced a vote to lift the mandates will be held this week.

Comments

Oh ya 4 year ago
Justin likely hiding out in Cuba with his relatives as his mom was a slut and Fidel is likely his dad and people wonder where his commie ideas come from
Peter 4 year ago
Liberal arrogance: Mistaking obedience and pragmatism with agreement. The majority of Canadians do not agree with the Liberals. And the Liberals are too arrogant to meet with the protesters.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×