‘Freedom Convoy’ protests disrupt another U.S.-Canada border crossing as more arrests are made

A second U.S.-Canada land crossing was disrupted by protesters from the self-described Freedom Convoy against coronavirus restrictions, including vaccine mandates for cross-border truckers, further paralyzing crucial trade routes connecting the United States and its northern neighbor. Both north- and southbound lanes at the Coutts border crossing, which links Alberta, Canada, with Montana, were shut down by protesters, the provincial Royal Canadian Mounted Police said Tuesday. The blockage came as the Ambassador Bridge, the busiest international crossing in North America, linking Windsor, Ontario, to Detroit, was temporarily closed on the same day for passengers and commercial traffic, although local police said “limited traffic” was being allowed into the United States late Tuesday. The protests, which began in late January against vaccine mandates for cross-border truckers, have snowballed into a broader movement against Canada’s pandemic-related measures and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Hundreds and sometimes thousands of big-rig truckers and their supporters have jammed key roads, where some protesters defaced national monuments and waved flags featuring swastikas while calling on Trudeau to resign. In the capital of Ottawa, where the mayor declared a state of emergency over the weekend, there have been 23 arrests on charges including resisting and flight from police and other “mischief” relating to the transportation of gas. About 80 criminal investigations have been launched. More than 1,300 tickets have been issued by officers since demonstrations began, police there said Tuesday, including for fireworks, excessive noise, a lack of insurance and red-light violations. The obstruction of border crossings — which are considered critical infrastructure — has sparked major pushback from Canadian police and officials on both sides of the political spectrum. Alberta’s premier, Jason Kenney, leader of the right-leaning United Conservative Party, has been critical of vaccine mandates — but stressed the economic significance of keeping the Coutts crossing clear because it is the primary port for billions of dollars in exports passing from Alberta to the United States. Alberta’s acting justice minister, Sonya Savage, called the blockade at the Coutts crossing “illegal,” according to a statement from her office, and said that participants could face criminal charges. “They need to recognize that this protest is no longer peaceful and is causing hardship to thousands of law-abiding Albertans,” Savage said Tuesday.