“We all live in our own beautiful bubble of reality. We don’t have to be pricks going around and popping other people’s bubbles. We have to join with the other bubbles that lift us up higher.”
This is the central tenet of the Church of Bubbles, an initiative operating out of a Burning Man art car dubbed “The Bubble Bus.”
The founder of the ‘church’ has become a recognized figure within Canada’s freedom movement. At the height of the Freedom Convoy protests in Ottawa, Jim Kerr became a primary source of information for thousands.
Kerr is a 55-year-old husband, father and grandfather. He was adopted when he was six months old and was raised in Courtice, Ont., near Oshawa.
Kerr met his wife, Thundra, when they were both 12-years-old at Sir Albert Love Catholic School in Oshawa.
About 15 years ago, Thundra tracked down Kerr’s birth mother, sparking a reunion that helped him better understand his life.
“I wanted to meet her, to thank her – for not aborting me,” Kerr said.
After meeting his birth mother, he realized his adoption was a blessing.
Kerr said attending the world-renowned Burning Man art festival in Black Rock, Nev., changed his life. He described himself as a “judgmental Christian kind of person” before going to the festival.
The festival made him want to become “more production-oriented” with his self-expression. After Burning Man, he decided he wanted to make the world a “cooler and better” place.
Inspired by his festival experiences, Kerr decided to create an art car that would later become known as “The Bubble Bus.” It was supposed to be a UFO, but after seeing how the bubble machine he added affected those around him, the Church of Bubbles was born.
When the pandemic hit, Kerr and his wife were at another music festival called Tribal Gathering in Panama. They didn’t even know the pandemic was happening weeks into the lockdowns.
Kerr became interested in the anti-lockdown protests soon after arriving back in Canada.
He said he was comparing the numbers of people who died in vehicle accidents and COVID death statistics on the news, which made him critical of the government’s response to the virus.
He was invited to a freedom rally in Oshawa by some friends on Facebook. A local activist group organized the event called Rise Up Durham.
“I saw the diversity of the people being represented. It was a very loving vibe,” Kerr said. He supported what the group was doing and decided to join them.
On Jan. 21, 2021, Kerr was arrested for obstructing justice at Yonge-Dundas Square in Toronto. He was filming a protester who was being arrested by Toronto police.
When the Freedom Convoy rolled through Ontario, Kerr took the “Bubble Bus” ahead of the Convoy. He was one of the first to arrive in Ottawa for the protest.
He live-streamed throughout those three weeks, often having thousands of people watching his videos.
“What I tried to capture in my footage was the small things you would miss if you were just looking at the big action-oriented things,” he said.
He wanted to capture moments like children giving gratitude cards to the truckers.
“It was those things that got to you. Kids were explaining it in such a simplistic and artistic way,” he said.
Kerr said there was a culture of sharing throughout the protest.
“There were transport trucks filled with everything you could imagine and anything you would need to continue.”
While watching Kerr’s live streams, he was trying to uplift people. He tried to ensure that the protesters remained respectful and peaceful.
Kerr lost his temper on his stream during one of his on-foot night patrols. He found police confiscating fuel off of the trucks of sleeping protesters.
Kerr said he wasn’t looking for cops; he was on the lookout for anybody causing problems.
“You’re not only stealing something from them; you’re stealing their ability to stay warm,” he said.
Kerr was upset, reliving that moment. He argued that “those trucks didn’t have an opportunity to get out. They were jammed in there.”
After a protester stood on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Ottawa and shouted “Freedom,” the police in Ottawa erected gates to prevent access to the site. Canadian veterans decided to take the gates down.
From the Church of Bubbles live stream, Kerr’s audience could see that the military veterans had taken it upon themselves to patrol the memorial and “act as the human gates” around the site.
On Feb. 13th, 2022, a counter-protest emerged to prevent more Freedom Convoy supporters from entering Ottawa. The counter-protesters hurled insults at the freedom protesters and were not socially distancing.
The counter-protesters called Kerr names like “caveman” and “Gandalf” in reference to his bulky fur coat and a selfie stick that looked like a staff. But Kerr took this in stride and thought it was hilarious.
Kerr thinks the Freedom Convoy was successful in that it made many people realize that often, the “mainstream media” has its own biases and might not always be telling the truth.
What one could see when watching the Church of Bubbles livestream often contradicted what was being reported by the corporate press.
The Bubble Bus has since been a mainstay in many protests that politicians and media personalities label as “right-wing,” including the parental rights protest “Million March for Children” of last year.
The bus can often be seen at these protests, blowing bubbles and projecting music while people dance on and around it in an attempt to bring joy to otherwise serious events.
“The freedom movement will always have a place in Canada,” he said.
Kerr believes Canadians need to protest peacefully to protect our civil liberties in Canada.
“It has to get bad enough that people realize it in order to step up and do what’s necessary,” he said. “Unfortunately, for many people, it’s going to be too damn late.”
Correction: This story has been updated to correct Jim Kerr’s age.
