#ThankATrucker Campaign
The increased praise for truck operators is visible outside of the polls as well. The #ThankATrucker campaign has been taking off online and around the world with groups like the CTA promoting the campaign with template posts that Canadians can add to their social media with the #ThankATrucker campaign that can help Canadians express their appreciation for the work being done by operators. “We started the campaign on social media #ThankATrucker.” says Picard. “That’s really how each region or each community responded. So you know, just local businesses, are making free lunches for drivers. Some individuals, you know, raised some money and packed some lunches for drivers and went to a scale and gave them lunch and things like that. We saw that scene a lot in Atlantic Canada and across the country. So that was fantastic.”
According to the social media tracking Keyhole, there have been over 100,000 individual posts with the #ThankATrucker hashtag over the past three months by almost as many unique users.
These posts have reached up to 496.2 million potential views. It’s not just online posters that are singing the praises of truckers around the continent. A quick search of the #ThankATrucker hashtag on Twitter returns images of billboards with the #ThankATrucker tag and on-road variable messaging systems thanking truck drivers for their services. Corkum says that truckers have been very appreciative about the outpour of support: “Yeah, when we talk to some of the drivers, they said they really appreciate the thank yous.
They appreciate when they’re driving up the road how people in the general public will honk their horns or they just give them a wave and that puts a smile on their face. And that’s what keeps them going. The demonstration of gratitude and appreciation puts a smile on their face and they take a deep breath and they truck on.”
