Canada protests sound common refrain: 'We stand for freedom'

WINDSOR, Ontario (AP) — Canadians who have occupied downtown Ottawa, disrupted travel and trade with the U.S. and inspired copycat protests from New Zealand to the Netherlands sound a common note when asked about their motivation: Decisions about their health shouldn't be made by the government.

“We stand for freedom,” said Karen Driedger, 40, who home-schools her kids and attended protests in Ottawa and Windsor. “We believe that it should be everyone’s personal decision what they inject into their bodies.”

The refrain isn't new to a pandemic-weary world, two years after the COVID-19 virus prompted curfews and closures, face-mask mandates and debates over vaccine requirements. Still, the timing of the protests has raised some eyebrows, since they began just as many of the toughest pandemic-era restrictions were being lifted across Canada, the U.S. and Europe; experts say antipathy toward Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is a significant underlying force.

The in-your-face protests that have fueled frustrations around the country and world have been aided by publicity and support from far-right and anti-vaccine groups. And influential Americans such as former U.S. President Donald Trump and billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk have rallied behind the protesters.

Most Canadians have been supportive of the pandemic restrictions, which health officials have stressed are necessary to protect the public from a virus that has killed at least 5.8 million people globally. The vast majority of Canadians are vaccinated, and the COVID-19 death rate is one-third that of the United States.

Trudeau has labeled the protesters a “fringe,” and authorities have braced for violence because some have expressed hope that the rally will become the Canadian equivalent of last January's riot at...