Congruity of the freedom convoy and right-wing extremism through social identity theory

Right-Wing Extremism (RWE) is continually growing its influence in Canada and around the world. RWE’s expansion can be attributed to the internet and its ability to spread extremist messages and ideologies in a form of misinformation and conspiracies. Consequently, individuals who are experiencing negative emotions and various grievances become susceptible to extremist beliefs and behaviour. Unfortunately, COVID-19 became an optimal event when internet usage, misinformation, and negative emotions became rampant in Canada. Canada’s federal government implemented restrictions to mitigate the spread of the virus, and as a result, the “Freedom Convoy” (FC) protest was organised to oppose these public health restrictions. Within days of its establishment, the FC movement quickly became a coalition of dissent against the federal government itself. Between January 22 and February 23, 2022, when the FC occupied downtown Ottawa, far-right groups and voices became notable among the protesters as various right-wing groups joined the FC in support of the protest. This thesis investigates the relationship and similarities between RWE and the FC. Its aim is to contribute to the academic discourse regarding RWE in hopes to identifying possible countermeasures that can be used to dissuade RWE violence. Furthermore, this thesis attempts to explain the group behaviours of the FC and RWE through social identity theory by explaining how the formation of groups with shared identities can create hostile and hateful actions towards other groups. Central to this thesis is the examination of anti-governmental and grievance attitudes, the power of misinformation and conspiracies, the idea of settler-colonialism and freedom, along with an analysis of the FC organisers’ links to far-right groups.