On Friday, April 29th, 500-1000 motorcycles and other vehicles made their way to Canada’s capital city, Ottawa, as part of the Rolling Thunder protest. For many citizens in Ottawa, major protests have become a regular experience in the past few months, following the Freedom Convoy protest which lasted for over a month and was deemed an illegal occupation. The Rolling Thunder protest is unclear in its purpose, other than that their goal is to “peacefully celebrate our freedom” and to hold a service at the National War Memorial which was “desecrated” by police during the Freedom Convoy protests. This desecration refers to the creation of barricades by police around the Memorial after incidents were reported of protestors parking, urinating, and dancing on the National War Memorial.

As the Rolling Thunder protests enter the city this weekend, citizens and city officials are both hoping that the protest lasts only for the weekend and does not bring with it the same levels of disruption as the Freedom Convoy. There are also hopes that the protest remains peaceful and does not take a violent turn. Ottawa police have responded with increased police presence and by closing certain roads near Parliament Hill, as well as monitoring vehicles entering areas around Parliament Hill and the National War Memorial to ensure protest vehicles do not enter. The Public Safety Minister, Marco Mendicino, has said that, “We do not want to see anything in the form of an illegal occupation again here in Ottawa.”

The biggest concerns raised by the Rolling Thunder protest are the impact had on citizens of Ottawa, balancing protecting the right to protest with avoiding illegal occupations or similar events, and the question of if this protest does represent most veterans as it claims to do. If the protest remains peaceful and only lasts for the weekend as planned, then the impact on citizens of Ottawa and the chances of it escalating into an illegal occupation appear limited. However, following the Freedom Convoy and with some similar goals, there is a reasonable level of hesitation from many living in Ottawa to believe this will be the case. Regarding the representation of veterans, many veterans have spoken against the protest and have said the protest “doesn’t speak for me” and uses “the veteran community to forward their agenda.” Randy Sutton, a retired Major, has said that the reason barricades were put up around the National War Memorial was that “the memorial was indeed desecrated — by members of the first convoy,” not by police.

The Freedom Convoy was a protest which involved trucks from across Canada coming to Ottawa to protest regulations regarding the ability to cross the Canada-United States border, specifically for truck drivers. The protest later came to be against all COVID-19 restrictions and vaccine mandates. The protest led to states of emergency being announced, and on February 14th the Emergencies Act was enacted by Prime Minister Trudeau for the first time since its passing in 1988. By February 21st, one month since the protestors arrived, most protestors had been removed from downtown Ottawa. As the Rolling Thunder protest arrives this weekend, it brings for some a display of protecting the freedoms of Canadians and respecting veterans. For others, it brings a reminder of the disruptions caused by the Freedom Convoy and appears as simply a repeat of those events, using the respect of veterans as an excuse to protest other issues again. As the protest arrives this weekend and begins, it remains to be seen if the protest will be peaceful and short, or a repeat of the previous convoy in the city.