According to a top Canadian security officer, the trucker demonstrations in Ottawa are motivated by a desire to overthrow the government, contradicting marchers who claim they are fed up with the country's pandemic restrictions.

In an interview with reporters on Tuesday, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino questioned the demonstrators' motivations, claiming that the fury about continuous vaccination requirements is only a front for a more nefarious purpose.

“There have been those who have tried to characterize these illegal blockades about vaccines and mandates and fatigue with the pandemic,” he said. “That is not what is driving this movement right now.”

On January 22, a mass protest in Canada's capital of Ottawa began against vaccine mandates and has been ongoing for nearly 3 weeks. 

Last week, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared that it had to stop. 

Mendicino cited a group of 11 protesters in Coutts, Alberta, who were discovered to be in the possession of guns and ammunition, calling the discovery a "cautionary tale," adding that the seizure "by a group that is very committed to the cause is something that we need to be very sober about."

Two days ago, Justin Trudeau invoked the Federal Emergencies Act for the first time in history, to end what some officials described as a "blockade."

The Act gives authorities a variety of temporary powers, including the ability to order tow truck firms to remove the semi-trucks that are now parked across Ottawa. To yet, several towers have refused to pull the vehicles away.

The emergency powers also enable harsher punishments for anybody found breaking the peace during the protests, including fines of up to CDN$5,000 ($3,930) and possible jail sentences of up to five years.

US urges Canada to use federal powers to end protest

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) reported Thursday that the White House has urged Canada's government to use "federal powers" to end Covid-19 vaccine mandate protests in Ottawa and other Canadian cities

Members of US President Joe Biden's administration “held a series of high-level calls with their Canadian counterparts, urging them to use their federal powers to end the blockades,” while offering the US Department of Homeland Security's “full support” to deal with the protests, indicated the CBC.