Wave of COVID-19 mandate protests sweeps southwestern Ontario

A wave of convoys against COVID-19 mask and vaccine mandates rolled across towns and cities in southwestern Ontario, with protesters saying they support larger demonstrations in Ottawa, Toronto and Windsor, Ont.

Under the Bluewater Bridge in Sarnia, Ont., a dozen protesters held Canadian flags while waving and honking to their American counterparts across the St. Clair River in Port Huron, Michigan, emboldened by the show of support. 

"This is going to get bigger and bigger and bigger. It's not just a Canadian thing anymore. The Americans, New Zealand, Australia, everybody's picking it up," said Robert Thorogood, a Canadian Forces veteran who was at the Sarnia protest. 

"I feel rage. Most of us feel rage. We had friends that never came home, like lots of Canadian soldiers never Came home, and they're rolling in their graves right now watching what's going on. We got the freest country in the world and we've got a bunch of criminals running the show." 

While most of the protesters CBC News spoke to said the demonstrations will die down once governments lift COVID-19 mandates, Thorogood said he thinks people have been angry for a long time, and will continue fighting. 

"There's more to this now," he said. 

"Most of the kids today, the 25-year-olds, they have never owned a home. They're priced right out of the market. They don't make enough money. Why can't people make a wage where they can actually afford a good living? I think there's more to this than just mandates and it's going to grow as time goes on." 

'I just want our freedoms'

Spencer Prins, who lives in Sarnia, came to the border city to protest with his family. 

"A lot of people are driving by, honking, there are people in the States that have speakers — we can't hear what they're saying but they're here for the same cause we're here for," he said.

"I'm here to see that restrictions are removed. I'm not here for illegal actions, I don't want things destroyed. I just want our freedoms." 

Prins' brother, Alex Prins, is married to an American woman. "I can't even go see my inlaws," he said. 

"At the beginning of the pandemic, you have to do whatever is necessary, but we're two years in. The mandates don't match the so-called threat of COVID. The mandates need to be done away with completely," Alex Prins said. 

'It's not just the mandates'

In communities across southwestern Ontario, there were police warnings about possible slowdowns on roads, as flag-waving convoys made their way through the core of towns such as Ingersoll, Woodstock, and Tillsonburg. 

In London, Ont., police cruisers blocked off entrances to the city's hospitals to keep protesters away. Some streets downtown were also closed. 

Hwy. 402 remained closed between Nauvoo Road and Oil Heritage Road, where a line of about a dozen tractors remained parked in a show of support to the protests in Ottawa and Windsor.

Dozens of protesters had created a staging area in a nearby farmer's field, where they said there were BBQs and campfires, as well as activities for children. 

"To me, it's not just the mandates. They need to lift the emergency rules. People need to have freedom of their own bodies, their own autonomy," said Kurt Fischer, who is from London but came to support the protesters on the 402.

"The problem with all of this is it's so divisive. My family is completely divided on this. Some people like to rely on government, others want some independence."