Economic assessment of the “freedom convoy”, blockade at the borders

OTTAWA-

Transport Canada estimates that up to $3.9 billion in business activity was interrupted due to border blockades across the country related to protests against COVID-19 restrictions last winter.

The Public Order Emergency Commission reviewed emails between staff of various federal ministers who heard from businesses frustrated by border blockades between February 8 and 9.

The commission is holding public hearings to investigate the events that led to the federal government’s decision to invoke the Emergencies Act for the first time since it replaced the War Measures Act in 1988 .

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addressed the economic impact of the blockades and the damage to Canada’s economic and national security in the February 14 emergency declaration.

The emails show that ahead of the decision, carmakers raised concerns about the closure of their manufacturing plants with Transport Minister Omar Alghabra’s office.

When Ford Canada halted production at an Oakville plant during the Windsor border blockade, Alghabra’s chief of staff noted that the situation was viewed by U.S. parent companies as “just another reason not to invest in Canada”.

This report from The Canadian Press was first published on November 16, 2022.