OttawaTamara Lich and Chris Barber, two major figures of the 2022 “Freedom Convoy,” have been handed conditional sentences and spared further jail time.Guilty of mischief, both will spend a year at home with limited freedomCBC News · Posted: Oct 07, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hour agoChris Barber, left, and Tamara Lich were each given a conditional sentence on Tuesday for their roles in the 2022 truck convoy protest in Ottawa. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)Tamara Lich and Chris Barber, two major figures of the 2022 “Freedom Convoy,” have been handed conditional sentences and spared further jail time.Barber was found guilty of mischief and counselling others to disobey a court order earlier this year, while Lich was found guilty of mischief. Both were found not guilty on several other counts.On Tuesday, each was given an 18-month conditional sentence: Twelve months at home with limited outings per week, followed by six months under a 10 p.m. curfew.Lich is being given credit for the 19 days she initially spent in jail, and for another 30 days she spent in custody after breaching her bail conditions.Barber and Lich will each have to serve 100 hours of community service.Crown sought years in prisonThe pair are in court in Ottawa for sentencing following sentencing hearings in July. Crown prosecutor Siobhain Wetscher previously asked Justice Heather Perkins-McVey to impose extraordinary sentences — eight years’ imprisonment for Barber and seven for Lich — arguing that such heavy penalties would reflect the profound impact the two had on the public during the protests they led in Ottawa. That winter, Lich and Barber encouraged thousands of protesters to park their vehicles in the city’s downtown core, causing gridlock for weeks. They also raised millions of dollars to protest against the federal Liberal government’s COVID-19 mandates. The federal government eventually invoked the Emergencies Act to clear the protests. Barber arrives at the courthouse for sentencing on Tuesday. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)Lawyers for Lich and Barber called for an absolute discharge, with Barber’s lawyer Diane Magas saying an eight-year sentence would be “abusive.”A discharge would have meant no criminal record for Lich.Tamara Lich. centre, arrives at the courthouse Tuesday. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)In July, Lich’s lawyer Lawrence Greenspon said his client enjoyed widespread public support. “They stood up for thousands, perhaps even tens of thousands of people, who believed that their human dignity and freedoms had been compromised by government-mandated vaccinations,” Greenspon said at the time.Lich came to Ottawa with “the best of intentions,” he said.
Freedom Convoy leaders Chris Barber, Tamara Lich given conditional sentences
