The standoff at the Ambassador Bridge, which links Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, had paralyzed traffic between Canada and the United States. Its reopening allows “the free flow of commerce between the Canada and US economies once again,” the Detroit International Bridge Company said in a statement Sunday night.
Their grievances stem from Canada’s new mandate requiring truckers to either be fully vaccinated when crossing the Canadian-US border or face a two-week quarantine. Others have joined nationwide to rally against mask mandates, lockdowns, restrictions on gatherings and other coronavirus preventative measures.
Police also seized five vehicles from protesters Sunday, Mizuno said, and seven vehicles were towed Saturday. Police expect to have a heightened presence in the area to maintain order, the chief said.
The thoroughfare’s reopening “follows a state of emergency declared in Ontario and an injunction granted by an Ontario judge which took effect Friday,” the bridge company said.
The protesters represent a vocal minority. About 4 in every 5 Canadians are fully vaccinated, Johns Hopkins University data shows. And nearly 90% of the country’s truckers are fully vaccinated and eligible to cross the border, according to the Canadian government.
The mayor of Windsor said Sunday the economic fallout from the blockade was ending. “Today, our national economic crisis at the Ambassador bridge came to an end,” Mayor Drew Dilkens said in a written statement.
Some progress in the Ottawa protest was announced Sunday when Mayor Jim Watson said he reached an agreement with organizers to exit residential areas of downtown and restrict their demonstrations to streets directly in front of Canada’s national parliament.
Truckers and their supporters have been gathering in Ottawa since January 29, with demonstrations concentrated around government buildings but also spilling into residential areas.
Watson recognized the agreement was not a long-term solution but told city councilors in a statement provided to CNN “it represents a positive first step.”
“Freedom Convoy” organizer Tamara Lich wrote to the mayor that while some residents have supported and encouraged the protesters, others have been disturbed, according to a letter provided to CNN from the mayor’s office.
“We will be working hard over the next 24 hours to get buy in from the truckers,” Lich wrote in the letter addressed to Watson. “We hope to start repositioning our trucks on Monday.”
In addition to the Ambassador Bridge, protesters have used semitrailers — and sometimes farm equipment and other vehicles — to block the Coutts border access point between Alberta and Montana.
About 50 vehicles have blocked access since Thursday to the Canadian-US border at Emerson, Manitoba, and Pembina, North Dakota, the Manitoba Royal Canadian Mounted Police said Saturday.
“While no injuries were reported as a result of the incident, this had the potential for harm to pedestrians and first responders. This kind of behavior will not be tolerated and is being investigated,” Royal Canadian Mounted Police Cpl. Vanessa Munn said in a statement.
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