United We Roll all over again

How the far-right movement wraps its motives in various grievances

The anti-vaxx Freedom Convoy makes its way through Merritt, B.C. (YouTube)

Some of the same white supremacists who organized the 2019 United We Roll Convoy under the guise of support for the oil and gas industry have coalesced around the anti-vaxx Canada Unity convoy, but this time they have more resources.

The official communications of the convoy, which is set to arrive in the capital tomorrow, claims that it exists solely to protest Canada’s vaccine mandate for truck drivers, but a closer look at its organizers and prominent supporters reveals a host of shady far-right connections.

A GoFundMe for the convoy that raised $6 million was set up by Tamara Lich and B.J. Dichter — two veterans of the far-right movement in Canada — the Canadian Anti-Hate Network (CAHN) reports.

From CAHN:

The mainstream media has been very slow to report on the far-right connections, just like they were in 2019, when the far-right had their much smaller “United We Roll” convoy. Most have given them uncritical coverage, using their language, and calling it a “freedom convoy.” 

Now, arriving from different corners of Canada, the fleet of semi-trucks, half tonne pickups, SUVs and more than a few sedans is on its way to Parliament Hill. Many of their supporters swear this isn’t about the far-right, and even, bizarrely, that they aren’t anti-vaccine. Most of them probably believe it, too. But the organizers behind the convoy, and where it emerged from, paint a very different picture.