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ArchiveCross-Border

Ambassador Bridge reopens after police clear weeklong protest blockade

Police cleared protesters from the Windsor approach to the Ambassador Bridge in February 2022, ending a closure of nearly a week at a crossing that normally carries a quarter of Canada-U.S. trade.

By Transport News Staff · Added to the archive

In February 2022, the Ambassador Bridge between Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit reopened late on Sunday, Feb. 13, the Canada Border Services Agency said. The crossing had been closed for nearly a week by protesters opposed to COVID-19 measures, including vaccine mandates.

Protesters had blocked the Windsor approach to the bridge since Monday, Feb. 7. The bridge normally handles about 25% of all trade between Canada and the U.S.

How the blockade ended

The police operation followed an Ontario Superior Court injunction granted on Friday, Feb. 11. Officers from Windsor police, London police, the Ontario Provincial Police and the RCMP took part.

Windsor Police Chief Pam Mizuno said 25 to 30 people were arrested and charged with mischief on Sunday. About 12 of those arrests came in the morning, and police said they were made without the use of force.

Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens called the protest an "illegal occupation." He said he was concerned that protesters could return and called for measures to harden the roadway leading to the bridge, along Huron Church Road.

A wider wave of protests

The Windsor blockade was part of a broader movement. Protests also took place near the Peace Bridge, on the Queen Elizabeth Way near Fort Erie, Ontario. In Ottawa, the occupation of the downtown core was then in its 16th day.

What it meant for carriers

For carriers running Michigan-Ontario lanes, the closure removed the busiest truck crossing between the two countries for most of a week. Loads that normally crossed at Windsor-Detroit had to be held, rerouted to other crossings or delayed. Because the bridge carries about a quarter of Canada-U.S. trade, a closure of less than a week still touched a large share of the freight moving between the two countries.

The bridge's reopening restored that route, but the mayor's comments showed local officials were worried the risk had not gone away. The episode showed how much cross-border freight depended on a single bridge.

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