The Ambassador Bridge that facilitates two-way trade between Canada and the U.S. has reopened after a weeklong protest had shut it down.
“Normal border processing has resumed at the Ambassador Bridge,” the Canada Border Services Agency said on Twitter.
The reopening came after local police and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police slowly and methodically pushed protesters from the foot of the bridge up Huron Church Road starting Saturday (February 12).
With the road cleared, police worked to remove barriers positioned to prevent the protest from growing and to get Canada’s border agency staff to the bridge.
Restarting traffic across the bridge after the week-long blockade is essential to both the U.S. and Canadian economies. The protest halted the transport of $13.5 million U.S. an hour in traded goods and forced automakers to reduce production or cancel shifts at plants in Ontario and Michigan.
A Superior Court Judge issued an injunction Friday afternoon, giving police stronger legal cover to make arrests and tow vehicles. The operation began Saturday morning in Windsor, as lines of officers in yellow vests advanced in rows, warning protesters they could face criminal charges if they continued to occupy roadways.
After sub-freezing temperatures sent some protesters away, the police started clearing those who remained early Sunday morning (February 13). A larger protest has been taking place for more than two weeks in Ottawa, where hundreds of semi trucks have blocked downtown streets, including the one in front of Canada’s Parliament buildings.
The Ambassador Bridge is vital to the auto sector, which relies on a supply chain that includes assembly plants and parts makers in Ontario and Quebec. Automakers including General Motors Co. (GM), Ford Motor Co. (F), and Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) have been forced to curb production for lack of parts.
An association of automotive parts manufacturers was among the parties that applied for the court injunction. The demonstrations have had staying power in Canada in large part because police, wary of stoking violence, hesitated to make arrests and clear the blockades.