How are Canadians occupying Canadian cities supposed to lift US restrictions? They can't, that's how. Again, it's stupidity, ignorance, and probably some propaganda/misinformation that spurred them on.
"How are Canadians occupying Canadian cities supposed to lift US restrictions?:"
They can protest (which they did) and Justin Trudeau could have picked up the phone and call Biden and ask to remove the restriction, which at that time of the pandemic was completely useless. Instead, Justin Trudeau played politics, he figured it was much better for him to divide the population on the issue than actually work with its biggest trade partner to remove the restriction.
Thing is that Canada already had the mandate delayed once by request to the US prior to it coming into effect, I believe it was 6 months delayed already.
The level of vitriol reserved for Trudeau on this topic is strange, considering it was US-driven policy.
Also strange considering the vast majority of "vaccine mandate" policy in Canada was provincial in jurisdiction, and the federal gov't only had control over ports and borders, so really didn't do much on the "mandate" file outside of that.
The reality is that this convoy was targeted for Ottawa and the Canadian govt because that govt was seen as weak and more easily undermined. The chief organizers are far right radicals whose previous involvements had been around protesting climate change initiatives and in favour of the oil and gas sector ("yellow vest" convoy in favour of pipelines and stuff)
The same kinds of protests done on the US side would have been met with far more severe consequences.
