A 2024 review of the RCMP’s response to the pandemic-era “freedom convoy” takes on new relevance after FBI warnings.

By Sam Cooper | The Bureau

In Brief

A 2024 external review (Project Natterjack) of the RCMP’s response to the 2022 “Freedom Convoy” protests exposes systemic failures in Canada’s security governance, raising alarms about political interference and the lack of a unified strategy to combat hybrid threats such as fentanyl trafficking, foreign election interference, and transnational crime networks linked to China, Iran, and Mexico.

The 92-page Natterjack report reveals RCMP intelligence officers faced demands from the Justin Trudeau administration to frame disruptive but largely peaceful convoy protests as “ideologically motivated violent extremism” (a terrorism-related framework), despite limited evidence. Officers reported skewed intelligence due to hourly briefings for federal officials, leading to rushed, misrepresented assessments.

While the RCMP focused on protests, critics note inaction against fentanyl cartels, Chinese underground banking tied to election interference, and state-backed money laundering.

The report underscores a “governance failure” as Canada faces escalating hybrid threats that blend crime, terrorism, and geopolitical sabotage, along with heightened scrutiny from U.S. officials who view their neighbor as a northern weak link for the flow of narcotics and hostile actors due to lax enforcement.

Read the full report at the publisher’s website here.