Tamara Lich is a former logistics worker, and a Canadian right-wing activist known for her involvement in the Yellow Vest protests, the

Wexit The Maverick Party, formerly known as Wexit Canada, is a Canadian federal political party. It advocates for constitutional changes to benefit, or the independence of, Western Canada, which includes British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Mani ...

movement, and the

Canada convoy protest A series of protests and blockades in Canada against COVID-19 vaccine mandates and restrictions, called the Freedom Convoy (french: Convoi de la liberté, links=no) by organizers, began in early 2022. The initial convoy movement was created t ...

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

. Lich was among the organizers of the Yellow Vest protests in Alberta in 2018 and 2019. Based in

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, Lich was also an early leader in the Western Canada secession ''Wexit'' movement, which later became the

Wildrose Independence Party of Alberta Wildrose Independence Party of Alberta is a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada, which was formed through the merger of Wexit Alberta and the Freedom Conservative Party of Alberta in 2020. Views According to its constitution, Wex ...

. In 2022, she was one of three organisers of the Canada convoy protests in Ottawa. She was arrested in Ottawa on February 17, 2022 and initially denied bail. Upon appeal she was released, then re-arrested and denied bail again. Another appeal in July 2022 led to her re-release.

Early life

Lich was born in

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

and lives in

Medicine Hat, Alberta Medicine Hat is a city in southeast Alberta, Canada. It is located along the South Saskatchewan River. It is approximately east of Lethbridge and southeast of Calgary. This city and the adjacent Town of Redcliff to the northwest are within ...

Career

Lich has predominately worked in logistics in the energy field, including as a base administrator for STEP Energy Services, and also as a fitness instructor. She was a musician in the Alberta-based band Blind Monday.

Activism and politics

Yellow vest movement

Lich organized the yellow vest protests in

Medicine Hat Medicine Hat is a city in Southern Alberta, southeast Alberta, Canada. It is located along the South Saskatchewan River. It is approximately east of Lethbridge and southeast of Calgary. This city and the adjacent Town of Redcliff, Alberta, ...

in 2019. Following death threats made towards Prime Minister

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...

, Lich debated a name change for the group to distance their aims from those promoting violence.

Western Canada secessionism

She opposed Bill C-48 and Bill-69 that regulated the oil industry in Canada. Lich advocates against legislation that does not take regional differences into account. In 2020, she opined that there are different needs for legislation on gun control in downtown Toronto compared to rural Alberta. As a member of the

Maverick Party The Maverick Party, formerly known as Wexit Canada, is a Canadian federal political party. It advocates for constitutional changes to benefit, or the independence of, Western Canada, which includes British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Mani ...

, she advocated for a unified voice of people in western Canada to push for constitutional reform as a first priority and secession as the second. Maverick Party logo

Lich was a leader in the

movement which later became the

. Lich left the Wildrose party to join the separatist

where she served as a member of its first governing council. In 2022, she was the secretary of the Maverick Party's Western Canadian Governing Council. Lich was involved in the 2018 ''United We Roll'' protest convoy.

COVID-19 pandemic

Freedom Convoy 2022, Ottawa, February 12 (18)

Speaking at a news conference on February 3, 2022, Lich called on all levels of government in Canada to put an end to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

public health measures. The next day, she praised

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

Premier

Scott Moe Scott Moe (born July 31, 1973) is a Canadian politician serving as the 15th and current premier of Saskatchewan since February 2, 2018. He is a member of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan for the riding of Rosthern-Shellbrook, first elect ...

for ending provincial COVID-19 restrictions. Lich was a primary organizer of the 2022

in Ottawa, as well as a spokesperson and an organizer of the fundraising of the protest. She led negotiations on behalf of the convoy movement with

Ottawa Mayor The mayor of Ottawa is head of the executive branch of the Ottawa City Council. The current mayor is Mark Sutcliffe. The following is a list of mayors of Ottawa. Until 1854, Ottawa was known as Bytown. Over the course of Ottawa's history, the ...

Jim Watson. Lich spoke publicly about how she felt offended that the protesters were being portrayed in the media as racist and sexist. Lich has been outspoken against forms of extremism at the protests.

Arrest, bail, and trial

Lich was arrested in Ottawa on February 17, 2022, accused of counselling to commit mischief. Justice Julie Bourgeois denied her application for bail on February 22, 2022. Diane Magas, defence lawyer for Lich, expressed concern about the neutrality of Justice Bourgeois on the basis that she ran for a federal

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

seat in 2011. Her denial of bail was protested in Ottawa. On March 7, 2022, the bail denial was overturned, and Lich was granted bail on the conditions that she refrain from use social media, and that she leave Ottawa within 24 hours and the province of Ontario within 72 hours, and to only return to the province for court-related reasons. Additional conditions prohibit her use of social media, and prohibit contact with other protests organizers. On March 24, 2022, an additional six charges were laid against Lich: counselling mischief, mischief, counselling to obstruct police, obstructing police, counselling intimidation, and intimidation by blocking and obstructing one or more highways. On April 26, 2022, Calgary-based

Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) is a Canadian legal advocacy organization specializing in a social conservative approach to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The organization describes itself as non-partisan, b ...

announced that Lich will be awarded The George Jonas Freedom Award for her work during the

. On June 27, 2022, Lich was re-arrested by the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...

in Alberta for allegedly breaching her bail conditions. Lich attended a

award ceremony on June 17 and met convoy organizer

Tom Marazzo Tom Marazzo is a Canadian military veteran, former teacher, and leader in the 2022 Canadian convoy protest. Career Joining in September 1998 in Hamilton, Ontario and working until 2016, Marazzo worked for the Canadian Armed Forces as a militar ...

, with whom she had been ordered to have no contact. On July 8, Lich's bail application was denied, although that decision was overturned on July 26. Lich's trial is scheduled for September 5, 2023 and is expected to last 16 days.

Family life

Lich is married to Dwayne Lich, and is both a mother and a grandmother; her daughter was born premature. She has publicly claimed

Métis The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United States. They have a shared history and culture which derives ...

heritage.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lich, Tamara Living people People from Medicine Hat Maverick Party Wildrose Party Musicians from Alberta Women activists Year of birth missing (living people) Protesters involved in the Canada convoy protest