Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) veteran James Topp made it to the Land of Living Skies this weekend, hitting the middlemost province of his protest march from Vancouver to Ottawa and putting a third of his 4293km trek behind him.
Topp reached the Saskatchewan border on Saturday, the forty-ninth day since departing from the Terry Fox Memorial at B.C. Place on Feb. 20. The soldier of 28 years commemorated the milestone on social media with a picture of his watch showing that he had made the 54km stretch from Medicine Hat, Alberta in 11 hours.
“We’ve got two Canadian provinces on our backs now,” Topp announced to his crew and a small crowd of supporters. “And we’re heading east. See you in Ontario.”
At the time this article was published, Topp was 25km from the village of Tompkins.
During his two-week march across southern Alberta, Topp also took a break to drive up to Calgary on Apr. 2 to speak to a freedom rally.
When asked why he had decided to load up a rucksack and walk more than four thousand kilometres across the country, he explained to the crowd that the Freedom Convoy had made him realize his gratitude toward the working people of Canada.
“I was inspired by a group of folks who went to Ottawa to make their voices heard,” he said, “and I was also inspired by how they took a stand and traveled there, and I would have liked to have joined them there except I can’t fly. So, I found another way to get there.”
(Topp was referring to the Trudeau government’s ongoing pandemic travel restrictions, which bar unvaccinated Canadians from boarding planes and trains in their own country).
Having lost both his jobs to vaccine mandates – one as a reservist with the CAF and the other as a civilian employee with the RCMP – Topp put government coercion and COVID shots at the centre of his protest.
“So that’s why I’m doing this,” he said. “I’m going there to protest. I’m going to speak on behalf of those who have also lost their jobs, lost their employment. I’m going there to speak on behalf of those who have been injured.”
“I’m going there to speak on behalf of those who got their arms twisted behind their back under this negative construct – this false construct of choice and consequences – and had to accept a procedure they wouldn’t otherwise have so they can keep their jobs.”
The weekend also saw Topp switch over from Highway 3 back to the TransCanada Highway for the first time since leaving B.C.’s Lower Mainland. Topp had followed Highway 3 – also known as the Crowsnest Highway – for more than 1100 km from Hope B.C. to Medicine Hat, where it ends. At one time, the Crowsnest was the only highway between the two provinces, and it was closed during winters.
Topp’s following has grown rapidly over the past fifty days, with frequent daily updates posted to his social media channels – including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram – as well as a live GPS on his website Canadamarches.ca showing his progress at all times.
Topp expects to reach Ottawa some time in June. Volunteers who wish to offer route support are encouraged to contact his channels’ administrators.
