Another survey by the Angus Reid Institute, a British Columbia-based polling organisation, revealed that 65 per cent of respondents polled in February thought Mr Trudeau’s remarks targeting protesters worsened an already tense situation.

When the protests started, Mr Trudeau called the group a “fringe minority” that held “unacceptable views”.

Last autumn, he angered protesters further by saying that some of those fiercely opposed to vaccination are “often misogynist, often racist, too. It’s a small group but takes up space”.

Ashtyn Lammers, one of the protesters, told The Wall Street Journal: “This isn’t just because of small inconveniences like not being able to eat at a restaurant. People have lost their livelihoods; their jobs. Friends and families have been torn apart because of the division that the prime minister has instigated.”

Canada has one of the highest Covid vaccination rates in the world, with 81 per cent of people double-jabbed. Mr Trudeau won the Canadian general election last autumn, but failed once again to win a parliamentary majority.

He said last month of the public health restrictions and vaccine mandates: “Quite frankly, it’s worked. We have seen the curves lower in Canada than elsewhere. We’ve seen lower death rates. We’ve seen quicker economic recovery because Canadians stepped up, because Canadians got vaccinated.”

Shachi Kurl, the president of the Angus Reid Institute, said: “Trudeau once distinguished himself with the ability to effortlessly communicate via feel-good symbols and imagery. He now unabashedly, unapologetically doubles and triples down on the politics of inflammation.”