The Ambassador Bridge, connecting Windsor, Ontario to Detroit, Michigan, again carried vehicles across the U.S.-Canada border on Monday… after police moved in over the weekend to clear out a six-day blockade by protesters that shut down North America’s busiest trade corridor.
The activists had parked cars and trucks on the roadway to protest COVID-19 restrictions.
Before the Ambassador Bridge was cleared, there was a tense standoff between police and the protesters for more than 24 hours.
Police said they made dozens of arrests, but there were no reports of violence.
The bridge blockade choked the supply chain for Detroit’s carmakers, forcing Ford, General Motors and Toyota to cut production.
The estimated loss so far to the auto industry alone could be as high as $850 million.
Elsewhere in Canada, so-called “Freedom Convoy” protests started by truckers have turned into a rallying point for people opposing the COVID policies of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government.
Protests in the capitol, Ottawa, entered a third week.
Demonstrators also shut down smaller border crossings in Alberta and Manitoba last week and, on the weekend, shut down the Pacific Highway border point in British Columbia.
