Canada police clear key border bridge but protests still crippling Ottawa
- Ambassador Bridge, North America’s busiest land border crossing, reopened on Sunday after protests closed it for almost a week
- Canada trucker demonstrations have inspired copycat protests around the globe, including in France, the Netherlands, Switzerland
Canadian police on Sunday cleared a key US border bridge occupied by trucker-led demonstrators angry over Covid-19 restrictions, towing vehicles and making “several” arrests in their bid to quell a movement that has also paralysed downtown Ottawa.
“Today, our national economic crisis at the Ambassador Bridge came to an end,” Drew Dilkens, mayor of Windsor, Ontario, said in a statement. “Border crossings will reopen when it is safe to do so.”
US officials, who had pressed for a quick resolution as the blockades hit auto industries in both countries, praised what they called the “decisive” action in Windsor.
White House national security adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall said US and Canadian officials recognised “the imperative of taking swift, strong action and deterring future blockades.”
Ambassador Bridge, North America’s busiest land border crossing, reopened later on Sunday.
The demonstrations have inspired copycat protests around the globe, including in France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Australia and New Zealand, and with some US truckers discussing a protest for March.