On June 30, CAF Veteran James Topp completed his ~4,300km march, finally arriving at the National War Memorial and placing his hand on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Coming to the Memorial, James led a procession of more than 1,000 Canadians over a kilometer long. They were welcomed by nearly 10,000 Canadians at the Memorial itself.

James delivered a powerful speech to this crowd and the hundreds of thousands of Canadians watching from home. He underscored the importance of sacrifice and standing up and speaking out when we see something wrong taking place. To demonstrate courage and integrity and to lean on each other for support.

He called upon all Canadians to peacefully resist the mandates and restrictions and come together to hold the government accountable. Most importantly, he called on Canadians to continue the hard work of having a national compassionate and honest conversation about the mandates’ impacts on Canadians and society.

TBOF was proud to have been a key behind-the-scenes collaborator with James and his organization, Canada Marches. For weeks, we coordinated on everything from high-level communications strategy to grassroots volunteers for the day of. Working together, we were not only able to ensure June 30 was a success, but also that mainstream and alternative media was aware and engaged across the country, getting James message out.

One of TBOF’s most significant contributions was having our supporters send hundreds of emails and calls to CPC MPs. This not only led to 25 CPC MPs meeting with James on Parliament Hill on June 22, but also for Interim CPC Leader Candice Bergen to formally recognize and endorse the freedom movement. This was quickly followed by CPC Leadership frontrunner Pierre Poilievre marching with James on June 30, further catapulting James’ message into the mainstream and to all Canadians across the country.

As with all TBOF successes, they are predominately the result of normal Canadians making a small donation or taking a few minutes to email, write, or call an MP.

Big change continues to come from small actions.