Bridge blocked by anti-vaccine mandate protests may reopen Sunday, mayor says

(WINDSOR, Ontario) — The bridge in Canada where thousands of semi truck drivers have camped out in a protest against COVID-19 vaccine mandates may reopen Sunday night, according to officials.

The blockade of commercial trailers on the Ambassador Bridge, which connects the city of Windsor, Ontario, to Detroit, ended peacefully Sunday with no violence after police described many protesters exhibiting “aggressive, illegal behavior” on Saturday, Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens told ABC News.

Authorities now have the bridge under control after the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Ontario Provincial Police and Ottawa Police Service responded to the volatile scene on Saturday, where several hundred protesters planted themselves about 100 feet from the foot of the entry to the bridge, even as all of the trucks left the scene throughout the day in the face of a police crackdown.

A judge had ordered Friday that the protesters disperse after the demonstrations interrupted the flow of goods between the two countries, especially crippling the auto industry on both sides of the border.

City officials hope to reopen the bridge Sunday night.

“Today, our national economic crisis at the Ambassador bridge came to an end,” Dilkens wrote in a statement. “Border crossings will reopen when it is safe to do so and I defer to police and border agencies to make that determination.”

Dilkens wrote that while the nation of Canada “believes in the right to freedom of speech and expression,” those exercising those rights must also abide by the law.

“As Canadians, there is more that unites us, than divides us and we must all find the resolve to approach those who hold different views with tolerance and respect,” Dilkens said. “Illegal acts, blockades and hate speech must not be tolerated and should be denounced.”

Thousands of truckers have been protesting the COVID-19 vaccine mandates for weeks as part of what is being called the “Freedom Convoy.” The number of demonstrators reached as many as 4,000 over the weekend.

The protests began in Canada’s capital city last month after truckers began protesting the requirement for them to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to cross the U.S.-Canada border.

ABC News’ Luke Barr, Nadine El-Bawab, Matt Foster, Elwyn Lopez and Ivan Pereira contributed to this report.

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