Two years ago, a virus that shook the world to its core arrived and remains widespread today. The timeline of the COVID19 pandemic shows closures of entire cities, deaths in the thousands, and a vaccine aimed to help but bringing with it one of the biggest debates the nation has seen in a while: to vaccinate or not to vaccinate?

Canada Faces Protests by Truckers Against Vaccine Mandate

The first vaccines started rolling out in January 2021 and have since gained momentum, backed by mandates every so often. The trucking world is also affected by pandemic concerns with restrictions reaching truckers. Recent vaccine mandates have caused turmoil for truckers working in Canada and those who frequent the US and Canada borders. See the timeline of the incidents following the mandate below.

Timeline of Vaccine Mandate and Trucker Protests in Canada

October 12, 2021– The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announces new restrictions on non-essential travel for fully vaccinated between the United States, Canada, and Mexico. In the same announcement, the DHS said all inbound foreign national travelers, essential or not, will have to show proof of vaccination when entering the United States, and Canada. The government will enforce this mandate in January, affecting truck drivers traveling from the United States to Canada and back, tolling the trucking industry.

January 15, 2022– The vaccination requirements for US-Canada border crossing start, requiring foreign national truck drivers to show proof of vaccination when entering Canada and on the way back to the US.

January 22, 2022– Long-haul truckers make their way in big rigs to Ottawa, Canada’s capital, to protest vaccine mandates, blocking streets with their trucks to show their dissatisfaction with the pandemic restrictions.

February 7, 2022– The Ambassador Bridge, North America’s busiest land border crossing, closed due to blockage from protesters. The bridge which joins Detroit, Michigan, to Windsor, Ontario in Canada is said to have over 300 million dollars cross its paved grandeur each day.

February 13, 2022– After nearly a whole week of closure due to protests, the Ambassador Bridge opened again, which meant business as usual between the US and Canadian economies.

February 14, 2022– Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau enacts the Emergencies Act, not typical for Canada, to help disperse protestors. This act temporarily allows the government to take specific measures against a national emergency, the protestors.

These recent actions taken by Canada’s Prime Minister seemed to have only fueled disagreements and protests, with many seeing these steps as unnecessary and a path to more restrictions. Protests by truckers against vaccine mandates are spreading to other Canadian cities, and rumors about them making their way to the US are surfacing. With new mandates and even new training requirements, the trucking world sees plenty of change.