Protesters participating in a cross-country truck convoy protesting measures taken by authorities to curb the spread of COVID-19 and vaccine mandates walk near Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022. The "Freedom Convoy" protest against COVID-19 restrictions has been voted The Canadian Press news story of the year. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
OTTAWA – The “Freedom Convoy” protest over COVID-19 health restrictions has been voted The Canadian Press news story of the year.
The protest was by far the top pick in a vote by editors from newsrooms across the country, who were asked to choose the biggest story of 2022.
After nearly two years in and out of lockdowns to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus, the federal government issued a vaccine mandate for cross-border truck drivers late in 2021.
That fuelled discontent with pandemic restrictions and the Liberal government, leading thousands of people to head to Canada’s capital, as well as border crossings and provincial legislatures.
The streets of Ottawa and key border crossings with the U.S. were blockaded by protesters and big-rig trucks for weeks.
The social and economic consequences eventually led the federal government to invoke the Emergencies Act for the first time since the legislation was brought in to replace the War Measures Act in 1988.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 19, 2022.
