By Nate Tabak of Freight Waves,

Florida-based owner-operator DeAndre Mahadeo, like other truckers who rolled past throngs of supporters just outside Toronto, got a rousing send-off on Thursday as he prepared to head to the capital, Ottawa, in a protest against COVID-19 vaccine mandates at the border.

Hundreds of people of all ages called them heroes and even freedom fighters as 15 to 20 trucks and a few hundred passenger vehicles paraded through a mall parking lot in Vaughan. Some handed over boxes of cookies, brownies and other snacks. 

"We're here to join a movement," said Mahadeo, 30, a dual U.S.-Canadian citizen who regularly moves freight in both countries. "We need to end these restrictions once and for all."