Ottawa’s 20 days of anarchy: a timeline

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Editor’s note: An updated version of this timeline as of Feb. 18 has been published and can be read here.

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The Ottawa Police Services Board accepted the resignation of Chief Peter Sloly on Tuesday following the unchallenged reign of anarchy that has prevailed in downtown Ottawa for almost three weeks. Snapshots from the road to Sloly’s demise:

Jan. 26

Truckers protesting vaccine mandates approach Ottawa from east and west with Parliament Hill as their destination. The convoys are several kilometres long.

Sloly tells the Ottawa Police Services Board the protest is “a very fluid situation,” and warns disruptions could last through the weekend. Police say they’ll emphasize communication, de-escalation and peacekeeping.

Jan. 28

Trumpeting air horns, several hundred trucks arrive in downtown Ottawa. Police direct them to Wellington Street. By late afternoon, the street is jammed with one lane open for emergency vehicles.

Sloly rejects an appeal by federal officials to keep trucks away from Parliament Hill and the Prime Minister’s Office. He contends the truckers have a legitimate right to protest and believes they’ll leave after a few days.

Jan. 29

About 3,000 trucks and more than 15,000 protesters converge on downtown Ottawa.

The Rideau Centre closes after maskless protesters confront employees wearing masks. At the Shepherds of Good Hope, protesters harass staff and demand food. A woman dances on the National War Memorial, and others drape flags and signs on the Terry Fox statue. Some people openly display swastikas and the Confederate flag.

The police do not intervene.

Jan. 30

The Ottawa police launch investigations into the worst of the excesses.

Jan. 31

Sloly defends police tactics, saying officers had to ignore offences given the risk of a riot. He praises officers for preventing injuries and deaths.

Feb. 1

Premier Doug Ford asks the truckers to leave, saying, “It’s time to let the people of Ottawa get back to their lives.”

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Feb. 2

Sloly warns the protest is likely to grow and says he does not see a way to end it with police resources alone. “The longer this goes on, the more I am convinced there may not be a police solution to this demonstration,” he says. Sloly suggests the military may be needed.

Officials reveal protesters have been allowed, with police agreement, to set up a logistics camp in the Coventry Road baseball stadium lot.

Feb. 3

Mayor Jim Watson asks Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino for more federal resources.

Feb. 4

Ottawa police announce a “surge and contain strategy” to improve safety in downtown neighbourhoods. The service hires the crisis management firm Navigator.

A shack is built near Confederation Park to serve protesters as a “community kitchen.”

Feb. 5

A carnival atmosphere prevails in downtown Ottawa, where children play in bouncy castles and two demonstrators ride on horseback. About 300 counter-protesters gather at city hall.

Police board chair Diane Deans says protesters have been “emboldened by a lack of enforcement by every level.” Sloly says he doesn’t have enough resources to end the occupation.

“I don’t think we could have predicted what this has turned into,” Deputy Chief Trish Ferguson says.

Feb. 6

Watson declares a state of emergency, saying protesters “are calling the shots” inside the red zone.

Ottawa police announce anyone who attempts to resupply the demonstrators with fuel will be subject to arrest.

Feb. 7

Protesters openly defy the police ban by filling some jerry cans with water, others with gasoline, while Sloly says he needs 1,800 more officers to end the downtown protest.

A judge grants a 10-day injunction against horn honking in downtown Ottawa.

Feb. 8

Police reveal that more than 100 trucks have children inside, complicating any response to the crisis. The city says heavy tow truck companies are also refusing to help move the trucks.

Feb. 9

Ottawa police warn that anyone who continues to block the street with a vehicle could face criminal charges.

Feb. 10

Protesters slowly circle the airport to disrupt operations.

Feb. 11

Ford declares a state of emergency in Ontario, while Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Ottawa police need to do more. “I don’t accept the contention that the City of Ottawa has exhausted its tools and its resources,” he says.

Sloly says: “As soon as the new provincial orders are in effect, we will enforce them to the fullest extent that our resources allow.”

Deans backs the chief in public.

Protesters in downtown Ottawa set up a sound stage and hot tub.

Feb. 12

Ottawa police launch an “integrated command centre” with RCMP and OPP.

Counter-protesters march through the Glebe, demanding action.

Feb. 13.

Counter-protesters block 25 convoy vehicles near Billings Bridge. Watson offers to meet protest organizers if they agree to move trucks from residential areas.

Feb. 14.

Trudeau invokes the Emergencies Act.

Feb. 15

Sloly’s resignation is accepted by the police board. “Frankly,” Deans says, “the response to the crisis so far has been ineffective at bringing this occupation to an end.”

Ottawa Police Association President Matt Skof says “there’s been a serious lack of direction provided front-line officers.”

Feb. 16

The protest enters its 20th day in Ottawa with police handing out leaflets to downtown protesters, warning them to leave the area immediately or face arrest.