What was the 2022 Truckers' Convoy and Emergencies Act?

The 2022 Truckers' Convoy was a protest movement of truckers and supporters that occupied downtown Ottawa from January 28 to February 23, 2022 and blocked several Canada-United States border crossings. The protest opposed federal vaccine mandates (particularly the January 15, 2022 requirement that Canadian truckers crossing from the United States be vaccinated) and other COVID-19 measures. On February 14, 2022 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act for the first time in Canadian history, ending the Ottawa occupation by police action on February 18 to 20. The 2022 protest was the largest anti-government civil-society mobilisation in modern Canadian history and produced significant constitutional debate.

The Convoy departed Vancouver and other cities in late January 2022 and converged on Ottawa from January 28, 2022. About 3,000 to 5,000 trucks and additional cars blocked downtown Ottawa streets including Wellington Street in front of Parliament. Air horns were sounded continuously. The occupation grew to several thousand protesters by early February. Border blockades were established at the Ambassador Bridge between Detroit and Windsor (February 7 to 13, 2022, about 360 million dollars per day in trade affected), the Coutts crossing between Alberta and Montana, the Emerson crossing between Manitoba and North Dakota, and the Surrey-Pacific Highway crossing between BC and Washington.

Federal, Ontario, and Ottawa response evolved through the protest. The Ottawa Police Service, Ontario Provincial Police, and Royal Canadian Mounted Police negotiated with protesters. Ontario Premier Doug Ford declared a provincial state of emergency on February 11, 2022. On February 14, 2022, Prime Minister Trudeau invoked the federal Emergencies Act of 1988 for the first time in Canadian history. The Emergencies Act regulations froze approximately 280 protesters' bank accounts (about 8 million dollars), prohibited public assemblies in protest zones, compelled tow-truck companies to assist police, and authorised the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to enforce regulations in Ontario and other provinces.

Police action ended the occupation on February 18 to 20, 2022. About 200 protesters were arrested in Ottawa, with additional arrests at Coutts (where a weapons cache and apparent conspiracy were uncovered). The Emergencies Act was revoked on February 23, 2022. The federal Public Order Emergency Commission of Inquiry (the Rouleau Commission, 2022 to 2023) was appointed to review the invocation; Justice Paul Rouleau's February 2023 report concluded that the invocation had met the Emergencies Act's legal threshold but called the situation 'unfortunate' and made 56 recommendations. A January 2024 Federal Court decision (Canadian Civil Liberties Association v. Canada) ruled that the invocation had not met the Act's legal threshold and that some of the regulations had violated the Charter; the federal government appealed. The Convoy and the Emergencies Act invocation remain politically contested, with implications for future protest law and federal emergency powers.