Conservatives Vent Fury as GoFundMe Cancels Canadian Truckers' Fundraiser

Conservatives have reacted with fury after GoFundMe canceled a fundraiser for Canadian truckers protesting against a COVID-19 vaccine mandate and said it would refund all contributions.

The fundraising effort had raised C$10 million—around $7.9 million—and C$1 million had already been distributed to the organizers of the so-called Freedom Convoy before GoFundMe took the decision to stop the fundraiser.

Truckers have been engaged in a protest in downtown Ottawa for almost a week arguing against vaccine mandates, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau calling for them to go home but ruling out deploying the army to remove them.

GoFundMe initially announced on Friday it would refund contributions to anyone who applied and the remaining funds would be distributed to charities chosen by the Freedom Convoy organizers and verified by the crowdfunding site.

However, GoFundMe later issued an update, citing "donor feedback."

"We will automatically refund all contributions directly: donors do not need to submit a request," GoFundMe said.