Messaging for Mobilization: Canada’s Trucker Convoy and (Far Right) Momentum

• In Event: Social Media and Canadian Politics

Abstract

This paper explores the dominant narratives shared online by key actors of the Truckers Convoy to better understand how and why the movement was able to mobilize in the Canadian context. The argument is that sharing identity-based information can mobilize political action by enhancing collective identity formation. The affective aspects of online publics occurring through networked acknowledgement help foster community and cohesion through common values. By employing a qualitative content analysis of the top-performing communications by the top eight followed public Facebook Convoy Pages and Groups, the paper identifies 27 categories of shared information through manual coding and structural topic models. The categories articulate the types of messages that gained traction and how such messaging helped to sustain the Convoy’s momentum from January 22 to February 23 of 2022. Content with the most resonance illustrates appeals to broader themes of solidarity with the movement and anti-establishment sentiments towards the Canadian government, the Liberal Party, and the mainstream media. These findings provide a systematic first look at the Convoy’s common values, beliefs, and self-perceptions. More broadly, this paper deepens an understanding of how the digital environment supercharges identity for social mobilization and substantiates an emerging body of work on how far right groups use social media to mobilize. Keywords: protests, collective action, social media, narrative frames, identity, Canadian politics, content analysis.

Authors

• Cecilia Pang, University of Pennsylvania

• Samantha Bradshaw, American University