City of Ottawa... we need to talk
Episode Stats
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Summary
In this episode, I talk about why rebranding the Winterlude festival as the Trucker Convoy Winter Festival is a no-brainer for the city of Ottawa and the country of Canada. I also talk about the economic and cultural benefits it can bring to the city and country.
Transcript
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Every winter during February, Ottawa is home to Winterlude, the Winter Festival.
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There's skating on the Ottawa River, people eat beaver tails, there's magnificent ice sculptures.
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It's great. It lasts three weekends and it's welcomed millions of tourists over the years
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to Ottawa. But I think we can have millions of tourists every year. There's a way that we can
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take this Winter Festival in Ottawa to new heights, create an economic boom that local
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businesses have never seen, and even turn the cold and icy Winterlude into a loud, electric
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international tourist attraction. Introducing the Trucker Convoy Winter Festival. Now I know some
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of you may have some animosity towards the Trucker Convoy that happened in Ottawa last year, but as
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professionals who have a goal to maximize the popularity and financial success of Ottawa tourism,
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you must admit the Trucker Convoy was one of the coolest and most popular things that has ever
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happened in Ottawa, especially in recent history. Thousands of vehicles from across the country.
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Do we even have a headcount of how many Canadians came in and out of Ottawa during those three weeks?
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It made international news. Canada was in the spotlight. It inspired other protests around the
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world. We were seen as a leader internationally. And I know some of you may disagree that this event
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was positive. However, I'm hoping you can put your politics aside and see these three clear reasons
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why the Trucker Convoy Winter Festival is really a no-brainer for the city of Ottawa and the country
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of Canada. Reason number one is international tourists. We would be capitalizing on the international
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attention that the Trucker Convoy received to the benefit of the local Ottawa economy and Canada as a whole.
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Even if you didn't like the horns, you didn't like the hot tubs, you didn't like the line of trucks,
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people will travel internationally to come to Ottawa to experience what the Trucker Convoy was like.
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Because it was, whether you like it or not, a historic moment that the world recognized.
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Why not take advantage of that? I was someone who attended the Trucker Convoy 14 of the 21 days that
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lasted. And it really had a festive atmosphere. It reminded me of the street festival Pride in Toronto.
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Streets are closed off, lots of people around, lots of events, food and drink, people hugging one
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another and hugging one another to really, despite the cold weather, it was to celebrate something
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bigger than that. It was to celebrate Canada. It was to celebrate freedom. And there would still be
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the ice skating. There would still be the beaver tails and the ice sculptures. But now there would be a line
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of trucks on Wellington Street. There would be a bouncy castle for kids. There'd be a hot tub in the
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middle of the winter. And international tourists would come to experience this because these are
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attractions that you can't experience anywhere else in the world. Reason number two is obvious and
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undeniable. It will create a massive boom to the local economy. Hotels, restaurants, everything else in
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between. How do I know? Well, if you didn't notice, there were many local supporters and national supporters of
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the Trucker Convoy. There would be people coming from across Canada to experience it again or
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experience it for the first time. That is the question. What is the Trucker Convoy like? What was
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it like during those magical three weeks in 2022? That question alone, if used in the marketing, would
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draw so much tourism just in Canada itself. And as I mentioned, it's going to attract international
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tourists as well. So quite frankly, if you do not rebrand this festival to be the Trucker Convoy
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Winter Festival, you are denying a massive economic opportunity for local businesses in Ottawa and
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Canada as a whole. Reason number three is a big one. Cultural significance. What is the substance to
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winter loot? Winter? We can still have the ice sculptures. We can still have the ice skating. We can
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still have the beaver tails. We can still have all of that. But by rebranding it as the Trucker Convoy
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Winter Festival, we add so much cultural significance to this annual festival in Ottawa and
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significance that is related to the core identity of what Canada is. Freedom. Respecting one another
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and our differences. This is a huge opportunity for the sitting federal government to really lead by
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example and bring the country together. Because Mr. Trudeau, let's face it, you talk a lot about unity.
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You talk a lot about trying to bring people together. This is an opportunity to actually do
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that. This would bridge the gap and heal the country of Canada and the very disgusting division
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that we have been experiencing for the past three years. This is a huge opportunity to get everyone
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appreciating Justin Trudeau in making this decision along with everybody in the city of Ottawa. Because
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during the Trucker Convoy, there were people from all different backgrounds. Communist countries.
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They came to Canada to be free. And that's why they came to the Trucker Convoy to try and ensure
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that freedom stays and remains here in this beautiful country of Canada. And that is something
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that this current administration, any administration of Canada, should want to celebrate and embrace.
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Justin Trudeau, if you're watching this, please take advantage of this. Heal the nation. Bring us
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together and celebrate and embrace the Trucker Convoy. Embrace what you may think is a mistake. Embrace it
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and let's turn it into something culturally significant so we can celebrate Canada despite
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the cold weather. The Trucker Convoy Winter Festival. Celebrating the love of thy neighbor, the love of thy
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nation, and the love of freedom. To be able to do it in the middle of winter right on Parliament Hill,
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the city's capital. If you have any questions about my proposal, or if you're a local Ottawa business and
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you are interested, please email me at this email below, gregweiklith at protonmail.com. And we're
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going to see if we can make this happen for the City of Ottawa. Of course, with the approval of the City
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of Ottawa and everyone involved, we're going to talk to you soon. Thanks for watching.