Wellington Street

The longer "Freedom Convoy" demonstrators blockaded Ottawa streets in protest of COVID-19 public health restrictions last year, the more volatile the relationship between police and protesters became, an Ottawa police officer testified on Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023.

The protests staged in Ottawa over the weekend that caused only minimal disruptions were a far cry from the "Freedom Convoy" demonstrations that occupied downtown streets for three weeks earlier this year.

Canada’s institutions and police services were unprepared for the scale of the “Freedom Convoy” protest, says Ottawa’s former police chief, who resigned amid heavy criticism of the force’s handling of the demonstration.

Police officers donned helmets, wielded batons and deployed pepper spray in downtown Ottawa on Saturday, February 19, 2022, as they tried to clear out protesters putting up what the city's interim police chief described as a "barrage of resistance" to ending their illegal occupation of the national capital.

Red and white rain slickers, ponchos and umbrellas are the fashion accessories of choice today, July 1, 2017, on Parliament Hill as determined revellers prepare to mark Canada's 150th birthday.