After nearly a week of protests over COVID-19 limitations, the busiest U.S.-Canada border crossing reopened late Sunday, as Canadian officials held off on cracking down on a larger protest in Ottawa.
“The Ambassador Bridge is now completely open, allowing the free flow of commerce between the Canada and US economies once again,” the Detroit International Bridge Co. stated in a statement. The bridge reopened to traffic about 11 p.m. EST, according to a later text from the company’s spokeswoman, Esther Jentzen.
The crossing regularly carries 25% of all goods between the two countries, and the Canadian blockade had affected business in both countries, forcing automakers to close several assembly factories.
As officers evacuated the last demonstrators from near the bridge, which connects the city — and numerous Canadian automotive factories — police in Windsor, Ontario, reported earlier in the day that more than two dozen people had been peacefully arrested, seven vehicles towed, and five confiscated.
Meanwhile, the Ottawa demonstration has shut down the city, enraged locals fed up with police inactivity, and increased pressure on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who presided over a Cabinet meeting late Sunday.
Trudeau intended to meet digitally with the leaders of Canada’s provinces on Monday morning, according to a senior government official. As they were not authorised to comment publicly, the official spoke on the condition of anonymity.
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