By Canadian Press

Most funds raised for ‘Freedom Convoy’ protest were returned or confiscated

Nov 3, 2022 | 10:21 AM

OTTAWA — The public inquiry into the federal government’s invocation of the Emergencies Act says most of the millions of dollars raised by the “Freedom Convoy” ended up in an escrow account or returned to donors.

The Public Order Emergency Commission investigated what happened with roughly $25 million worth of donations made through e-transfers, cryptocurrency and fundraising platforms like GiveSendGo and GoFundMe. 

A report released by the commission today shows that about $1 million was actually spent by the convoy’s various organizers.

Approximately $18 million was refunded to donors, and the rest was either confiscated and put into a third-party fund pending civil court cases.

The commission also investigated whether the money came from foreign sources and found that it varied significantly based on the fundraiser. 

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The Adopt-A-Trucker and Freedom Convoy 2022 campaigns on GiveSendGo raised more than $13 million combined, and the majority of donors to those campaigns were from the United States or elsewhere. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 3, 2022.

The Canadian Press