Drivers warned of significant traffic delays on highways as trucker convoy enters Ontario
Drivers are being warned to expect significant traffic delays on major highways from Thursday to Saturday as the "Freedom Convoy" of truckers enters Ontario.
The Ontario Provincial Police said delays are expected on the QEW, Highway 400, Highway 426, Highway 403, and Highway 401 over the next few days.
The group of truckers began a cross-country trip in British Columbia on the weekend and are headed to Ottawa. They are protesting mandates that require truck drivers crossing the Canada-U.S. border to be vaccinated.
"Be aware there could be significant traffic delays through provincial highways," OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt said Wednesday. "If you are motorist, plan ahead and expect delays."
Schmidt said the group of truckers have the right to peacefully protest, but police will keep a close eye to ensure drivers remain safe.
Some supporters of the convoy, including some Conservative MPs, have taken to social media to warn the vaccine mandate for truckers will leave store shelves empty. Some have gone so far as to predict Canadians will starve.
Others, with more extreme, far-right views, have latched onto the protest. One online video includes a man expressing hope the rally will turn into the Canadian equivalent of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol by supporters of former president Donald Trump.
Donald Trump Jr. took to social media Tuesday to endorse the Canadian truck convoy's fight against "tyranny" and to urge Americans to follow suit.
The Canadian Trucking Alliance has estimated that about 15 per cent of truckers -- as many as 16,000 -- are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
It has strongly denounced any protests on public roadways, highways and bridges and has urged all truckers to get inoculated.
With files from The Canadian Press.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Worry, buyer's remorse high as real estate market slowdown materializes
A wave of buyer's remorse is taking shape in several heated real estate markets, after housing prices started dropping and the number of sales slowed over the last two months.

'Most horrific': Alberta First Nation investigating after remains of children found
Saddle Lake Cree Nation in eastern Alberta is 'actively researching and investigating' the deaths of at least 200 residential school children who never came home, as remains are being found in unmarked grave sites.
War wounds: Limbs lost and lives devastated in an instant in Ukraine
There is a cost to war — to the countries that wage it, to the soldiers who fight it, to the civilians who endure it. For nations, territory is gained and lost, and sometimes regained and lost again. But some losses are permanent. Lives lost can never be regained. Nor can limbs. And so it is in Ukraine.
NEW THIS MORNING | 'Please' before 'cheese': Answers to your royal etiquette questions
Etiquette expert Julie Blais Comeau answers your questions about how to address the royal couple, how to dress if you're meeting them, and whether or not you can ask for a selfie.
First transgender federal party leader calls for national anti-trans hate strategy
The Green Party of Canada is calling on the federal government to develop a targeted anti-transgender hate strategy, citing a 'rising tide of hate' both in Canada and abroad. Amita Kuttner, who is Canada's first transgender federal party leader, made the call during a press conference on Parliament Hill on Tuesday.
Canadians in the dark about how their data is collected and used, report finds
A new report says digital technology has become so widespread at such a rapid pace that Canadians have little idea what information is being collected about them or how it is used.
Poilievre personally holds investment in Bitcoin as he promotes crypto to Canadians
Conservative Party leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre has a personal financial interest in cryptocurrencies that he has promoted during his campaign as a hedge against inflation.
Finland, Sweden officially apply for NATO membership
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday that the military alliance stands ready to seize a historic moment and move quickly on allowing Finland and Sweden to join its ranks, after the two countries submitted their membership requests.
Ukrainian soldiers exiting Mariupol steel mill face interrogation, uncertainty
Russia said Wednesday that nearly 1,000 Ukrainian troops at a giant steelworks in Mariupol have surrendered, abandoning their dogged defence of a site that became a symbol of their country's resistance, as the battle in the strategic port city appeared all but over.