Friday 25 November 2022 06:59 AM Biden ordered Trudeau to end freedom convoy over fears US car plants would ... trends now

President Joe Biden demanded Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stop the 'freedom convoy' that protested at the US-Canada border against vaccine mandates, right before Trudeau invoked emergency powers to end it.

Trudeau is set to testify in Ottawa on Friday regarding his decision to clear out the convoy as part of the Canadian government's investigation into the PM using those powers.

The trucker protest grew until it closed vital trade routes along the Canada-U.S. border and shut down key parts of the capital for more than three weeks. But all border blockades were ended on February 14. 

It has been revealed that Biden pressed on his Canadian counterpart to stop the convoy, with Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland saying that Washington was 'very, very, very worried.'

The minister emailed staff on February 10 saying that the US government feared 'all of their northeastern car plants will shut down' if the convoy was not stopped within 12 hours. 

Freeland had been speaking that same day to Biden's top economic advisor, Brian Deese, who was himself worried about the blockades and said they could cost around $2.9billion in trade. 

Freeland has told the inquiry that she worried her country was 'in the process of doing long-term and possibly irreparable harm to our trading relationship with the United States.' 

The next day, Deese and Trudeau chief of staff Brian Clow set up a call between the Biden and the prime minister, with Trudeau being given a plan to end the convoy, according to POLITICO.

Trudeau, according to texts between Clow and Freeland, talked to Biden about 'money, people and political/media support' with the likes of Fox News' Tucker Carlson influencing the blockades with nightly coverage. 

Biden allegedly spoke about the rumors of a separate convoy that was going to blockade Washington and the Super Bowl in Inglewood, California, just outside Los Angeles.  

According to Freeland, Biden had described the blockades as a 'shared problem.' 

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg spoke to his Canadian counterpart, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra to try and come up with 'a plan to resolve' the blockades. 

At one point, Freeland was critical of both Democrats and Republicans in the US, saying they would 'love any excuse to impose more protectionist measures on us.' 

Freeland also met with some of the top bankers in Canada on February 13, and was told by the CEO of one of the country's largest steel companies that the blockade was 'really impacting us badly.' 

Alan Kestenbaum of Stelco said: 'I fear that even worse, the long term consequences of shutting down auto plants because of lack of Canadian parts, will only convince the auto companies to 'on shore' even more and relocate supplies (and our customers) to the USA.' 

Freeland responded by saying that Canada was 'determined to bring this to an end quickly.'

The next day, and three days after Biden pressed him, Trudeau invoked Canada's Emergencies Act - which had rarely ever been used - to end the protests.  

The law was used to freeze bank accounts, ban travel to the protests and compelled tow trucks to remove vehicles from the blockade.  

The Emergencies Act requires an investigation to figure out if Trudeau and his Liberal Party government were right to use the act.  

It's unclear that Trudeau's use of the emergency powers had any effect on the convoy, with documents suggesting law enforcement didn't need their invocation to open the border. 

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association said the government had not met the standard for invoking the Emergencies Act, which is intended to deal with threats to 'sovereignty, security and territorial integrity,' the group said.

The 'Freedom Convoy' protests, which started by Canadian truckers opposing a COVID-19 vaccinate-or-quarantine mandate for cross-border drivers, have drawn thousands of people opposed to Trudeau's policies.  

Protesters camped in front of the Canadian Parliament, some of whom want the prime minister to meet with them, said the latest steps were excessive.