Poilievre Says Lich and Barber Protested Peacefully, Judge Right to Reject Crown’s Jail Request

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre asks a question during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Sept. 17, 2025. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says Freedom Convoy organizers Tamara Lich and Chris Barber “peacefully” protested restrictions brought in by the Liberal government’s invocation of the Emergencies Act, and that the presiding judge was right to reject the Crown’s request for their imprisonment. 

Ontario Court Justice Heather Perkins-McVey ruled on Oct. 7 that Barber and Lich would receive 18-month conditional sentences to be served at home over their roles in the 2022 trucker protest.