Trudeau invoked unprecedented powers under Canada’s Emergencies Act to crack down on the Freedom Convoy movement.
Opposition lawmakers, and even some Canadian media that previously opposed the protests, criticized Trudeau’s move as legally dubious and heavy-handed – especially since most of whatever “emergency” the protests represented had already abated by the time the Emergencies Act was activated.
Observers more sympathetic to the Freedom Convoy denounced Trudeau for authoritarian overreach – comparing his actions to the “social credit system” created by the Chinese Communist Party and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s violent suppression of dissent.