Trucker protests disrupt US-Canada border traffic

Access to three border crossings in Michigan, North Dakota and Montana have been cut off by truckers and like-minded demonstrators on the Canadian side of the border who are protesting Covid-related restrictions.

To address the ongoing issue, the Canadian government announced Thursday it would send additional officers and resources to protests throughout the country.

"The plan is to make sure police have all the resources they need," said Marco Mendicino, the public safety minister. "Our top priority is to make sure that these illegal blockades end."

For two weeks now, the trucks have blockaded the downtown core of Ottawa, the capital of Canada. In recent days, demonstrators have parked their bulky vehicles in the middle of critical roadways between Canada and the US.

What happened today? Thursday marked the fourth day protesters impeded access to the Ambassador Bridge, which connects Detroit and Windsor — the busiest international crossing in North America. Second, a mix of semi-trailers and farm equipment shut down the border crossing connecting Emerson, Manitoba, and Pembina, North Dakota, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Manitoba. And third, the Coutts access point between Alberta and Montana has also been blocked.

Ottawa police said on their website that there have been 25 arrests since protests began about two weeks ago and more than 1,500 tickets have been issued for traffic, noise and other violations.

Who are the protesters and why are they protesting? The protests were ignited by truckers who oppose the nation's new rule that requires them to be fully vaccinated when crossing the Canada-US border or face a two-week quarantine. Their "Freedom Convoy" has since drawn others who are resisting Covid-19 preventative measures, including mask mandates, lockdowns and restrictions on gatherings.

"I want all these mandates gone, and I'm not leaving until all the mandates are gone. So, I am here for the long haul," Dylan Friesen, a protester in Ottawa, told CNN on Wednesday. "They can try get rid of us, but we're not leaving."

The protesting truckers represent a vocal minority among their profession and fellow citizens.

Canada has one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, with about 4 in every 5 Canadians fully vaccinated, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Nearly 90% of Canada's truckers are fully vaccinated and eligible to cross the border, according to the government.

What have been some of the impacts so far? The blockades have slowed the movement of goods and caused production issues at a number of car manufacturing plants along the border. Ford, General Motors and Stellantis all announced production issues due to the blockade.

Further, about 60 to 70 vehicles were attempting to disrupt traffic at Ottawa International Airport on Thursday by circling the arrivals and departure terminals, the airport said in a statement. Videos on social media showed a handful of vehicles driving around near a street close to the airport carrying Canadian flags and honking.

Resolving the standoff is a delicate operation. Forcibly removing the truckers could cause even more problems, Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens told CNN on Thursday.

The protests could cross the US border, too. American officials are warning that similar rallies soon could happen in the United States, where right-wing media outlets have raised that prospect and offered positive coverage of the protests. Sunday's Super Bowl in Southern California could draw such crowds, they've said.

Read more about today's protests here and see where the border crossings are located in the map below:

  

At least 25 arrests have been made and more than 1,550 tickets were issued in relation to the demonstrations in the city of Ottawa, Canada, according to a news release from Ottawa Police Service Works.  

"There have been 25 arrests in relation to criminal charges," the release read. "Bylaw and Police Services have issued more than 1,550 tickets, including tickets." 

According to the release, officers have also negotiated the removal of 12 trucks at the Coventry Road encampment and ten additional trucks have departed from the downtown core. 

"Investigative Units estimate that approximately 25% of heavy vehicles are currently being used to house families with children. We have consulted the Children’s Aid Society to ensure the safety of these children," the release read. 

Since the demonstrations began, police responded to nearly 1,000 calls for service related to the demonstrations, according to the release, and there are 126 active criminal offense investigations.

Where things stand: The trucks so far have blockaded Ottawa's downtown core, and demonstrators have in recent days parked their bulky vehicles in the middle of critical roadways between Canada and the US.

Thursday marked the fourth day protesters impeded access to the Ambassador Bridge, which connects Detroit and Windsor — the busiest international crossing in North America.

In addition, a mix of semi-trailers and farm equipment shut down the border crossing connecting Emerson, Manitoba, and Pembina, North Dakota, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Manitoba. The Coutts access point between Alberta and Montana has also been blocked.

The Canadian Trucking Alliance called for the blockades at the US border to end, saying in a statement posted to their website that "all levels of government across Canada" need to come together and form a plan to end the blockades, and prevent future ones from occurring.

"All Canadians have the right to peaceful protests," the statement read. "Individuals engaged in preventing vehicles from crossing into Canada and the United States are not 'peaceful protestors' as that term should not be applied to activities preventing the flow of essential goods by those who have illegally seized control and impede access to public infrastructure."

The CTA represents provincial trucking associations across Canada, including carriers, owner operators and industry suppliers.

The CTA is now calling on government officials to "put an action plan in place to end current blockades and prevent future disruptions at our nation’s ports of entry and the critical road infrastructure leading to critical trade arteries."

"Canadians should also keep in mind that many of these vehicles and individuals involved in the blockades are not operating heavy trucks or are associated with the trucking industry," the statement continued.

Stephen Laskowski, the president of the CTA, said that the patience of drivers and truckers in dealing with the blockades "has long-since expired."  

“The trucking industry and its drivers are paying a heavy price for the unlawful actions of those who choose to politicize and target our borders and highways and choke off trade between Canada and the United States," Laskowski said in the statement. "Their actions simply hurt Canadians and they have shown a blatant disregard for all the lives they are impacting.” 

The Biden administration continues to monitor the ongoing situation at the US-Canada border, where a standoff has emerged over vaccine mandates that threatens supply chains and other major disruptions, “very closely,” a White House official tells CNN, noting that there are already “significant impacts.”

“We know that a number of companies and industries are seeing significant impacts from these disruptions. The Department of Homeland Security, the National Security Council, Department of Transportation and the National Economic Council are working collaboratively – including with their Canadian counterparts at all levels – to rapidly develop a set of options that match current industry demands – including alternative routes and other scenario planning,” the official said. 

President Biden is “being regularly briefed” on the matter, and on Thursday morning, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg spoke separately with their Canadian counterparts, the official said, “urging them to use federal powers to resolve this situation at our joint border and offering the full support of our Homeland Security and Transportation departments.”

And Homeland Security Adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall will also speak with her Canadian counterpart this evening, per the White House.

Administration officials are also in “close touch” with stakeholders, including American auto companies, shippers, business and trade associations, labor unions, and agricultural groups. 

“We are principally focused on resolving the blockage at the Ambassador Bridge as well as other ports of entry,” the official said.

Though the Windsor Detroit Ambassador Bridge is closed as of Thursday afternoon, the detour port, Port Huron, “is fully operational,” the White House said, citing some “higher than normal traffic” in the Detroit-Windsor tunnel. 

The Department of Homeland Security is “aware” of reports of the organizing of a similar “Freedom Convoy” event in Washington, DC, next month, and “and is taking all necessary steps to ensure that the convoy does not disrupt lawful trade and transportation or interfere with federal government and law enforcement operations and emergency services.” 

And as CNN has reported a DHS bulletin is warning the convoy could disrupt Super Bowl Sunday and create issues in other major US cities, the official noted that the department “is surging additional staff to its Incident Command Post.”

 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government announced it would send additional officers and resources to protests throughout the country, adding that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Canada’s national police force, continue to show decisive action at protests across the country.

“The RCMP are going to be sending additional reinforcements to Ottawa. I also can advise that the RCMP will be sending reinforcements to Windsor, and in addition to that, the RCMP have added additional resources at Coutts in Alberta,” said Marco Mendicino, Canada’s public safety minister, during a news briefing in Ottawa Thursday.

Mendicino said he would not be disclosing details for operational reasons.

“The plan is to make sure police have all the resources they need,” he said, adding, “our top priority is to make sure that these illegal blockades end.”

 

About 60 to 70 vehicles disrupted traffic at Ottawa International Airport on Thursday morning by circling the airport’s arrivals and departure terminals, the airport said in a statement. 

The city of Ottawa tweeted about the protest just after 9 a.m. ET and then announced it had ended about two hours later. Police urged demonstrators to leave a road leading to the airport.

“We are very disappointed that the protesters have chosen to disrupt an industry that has already been decimated by the pandemic,” the airport statement said. “The Ottawa International Airport is an important link for essential products and services for Canada’s north, and an important economic engine for the region.”

The protesting truckers represent a vocal minority among their profession and fellow citizens.

Canada has one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, with about four in every five Canadians fully vaccinated, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Nearly 90% of Canada's truckers are fully vaccinated and eligible to cross the border, according to the government.

CNN's Donie O'Sullivan spoke with demonstrators about their reasons for protesting.

Dylan Friesen, a trucker, was let go from a job at a transport company in Ontario for not taking the Covid-19 vaccine, he explained.

"That's not right for companies be able to decide that and take away our right to earn money and support our livelihood," Friesen said.

Samuel Gauthier, who supports the truckers protesting in Canada, is unvaccinated, which has prevented him accessing certain businesses in his home province of Quebec, he told CNN.

"I can't go skiing, I can't go to Walmart, I can't go to Canadian tire, I can't go to Home Depot, I can't go to restaurants, I can't go to bars, I can't go to the gym," Gauthier said, noting restrictions in Quebec have been "a bit more intense than in other places in Canada."

Meanwhile, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson described the constant honking of large trucks as "tantamount to psychological warfare" and wrote in letters to federal and provincial officials earlier this week that, "People are living in fear and are terrified."

Watch CNN's report from the ground:

Canadian police urged truck drivers protesting Covid-19-related restrictions Thursday to leave a road leading to the Ottawa airport as disruptions elsewhere by like-minded demonstrators continued to impede international border crossings.

"Officers were able to negotiate for a dozen more trucks to leave Coventry Rd," police tweeted. "Ten trucks also left Ottawa from the Bank and Laurier area. Another vehicle was towed for obstructing traffic near Nepean and Bank."

"We want to again ask remaining demonstrators to leave and remind them of the message we issued yesterday," they added, referring to a post that noted it is illegal to obstruct roadways.

Police said in a statement yesterday :

"The unlawful act of blocking streets in the downtown core is resulting in people being denied the lawful use, enjoyment and operation of their property.
We are providing you notice that anyone blocking streets or assisting others in the blocking of streets may be committing a criminal offence.
You must immediately cease further unlawful activity or you may face charges," according to the statement.

Still, with Canadian flags flying and horns honking, a handful of vehicles drove Thursday in that area, social media videos show.

Canadian protests against vaccine mandates, Covid-19 restrictions and the Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have captured attention in the US and abroad — and prompted a flurry of misinformation, including a false claim that was promoted by podcaster Joe Rogan and on Fox.

These are the facts:

False claims about the number of trucks

Organizers claimed in late January that the convoy had grown to tens of thousands of trucks — even that the number was around 50,000. Others repeated this "50,000" figure.

Theo Fleury, a retired hockey star who's a frequent critic of Trudeau, said on Fox in late January that there were "50,000 truckers" heading to Ottawa. Rogan, who has been criticized for his show's role in promoting Covid-19 misinformation, said on the show in late January that the convoy involved "apparently some insane amount of people, like 50,000 trucks." Even larger figures, like "80,000" or "over 130,000" trucks, swirled on social media.

Facts First: The number of trucks involved in the protest was never anywhere close to 50,000; such a number of trucks would have taken up hundreds of miles more road space than this protest occupied. Canadian journalists put the number of trucks in the hundreds in late January. Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly told reporters on January 31 that it was impossible to provide exact crowd-size figures but that he had "heard" numbers as high as 18,000 total demonstrators — not just truckers — present in the city at the peak of the protest on Jan. 29. No credible source has reported that the number of participating trucks in particular ever approached tens of thousands, let alone "50,000."

Falsely captioned photos and videos

Numerous social media posts put inaccurate captions on photos and videos of events that had occurred prior to 2022 — such as truck demonstrations, other protests, even a parade in support of the Special Olympics — to falsely claim these images were connected to the Canadian convoy protest.

Facts First: One video that has been shared on various social media platforms was captioned to claim that it showed South Carolina truckers heading to Ottawa to join the convoy — but it actually showed an August 2021 truck parade in support of the Special Olympics, USA Today reported. A video of honking Brazilian truckers that circulated on Facebook was from a May 2021 demonstration in support of President Jair Bolsonaro, not a demonstration in solidarity with the Canadian truckers as some captions claimed, USA Today also reported. A photo of a massive protest crowd, shared in Twitter posts in both English and Spanish as if it were from Ottawa this year, actually depicted a 1991 demonstration in Moscow against the Communist government of the Soviet Union, Reuters reported. And another photo, which has been described in Facebook posts as a group of Amish people driving to support the convoy, is a shot of Old Order Mennonites simply going to church, PolitiFact reported.

Read more fact-checks for the protests here.