Border traffic between Michigan and the Canadian province of Ontario was slowly returning to normal Monday after a bridge crossing the Detroit River reopened following a week of demonstrations against COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
U.S. and Canadian border authorities said there were no significant delays Monday morning in crossing either the Ambassador Bridge, which connects Detroit with the city of Windsor, Ontario, or the Blue Water Bridge, which is about 66 miles north of Detroit and connects Port Huron, Mich., and Sarnia, Ontario. The Ambassador Bridge had been blocked by cars, trucks and demonstrators angry about COVID-19 vaccine mandates and other pandemic-related restrictions.
The reopening marks an end to one major protest that caused economic repercussions for North America and its automotive industry. Other protests continue in Canada, most notably in Ottawa where truckers and their supporters have camped for 17 days and counting, disrupting life in the capital and prompting calls for political leaders, chief among them Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, to move swiftly to bring the chaos to an end.
The 1.6-mile bridge reopened late Sunday night, after police in Windsor said they arrested between 25 and 30 protesters and towed 12 vehicles to clear access to the corridor. Protesters had succeeded in largely blocking most two-way Ambassador Bridge traffic since Feb. 7 in an attempt to persuade governments in Canada to drop COVID-19 vaccine mandates and related social restrictions. The City of Windsor and the auto industry succeeded late last week in obtaining a court order to give police permission to remove the protesters.
Click here to read the full story from Paul Vieira and Vipal Monga in the Wall Street Journal.