Windsor police say they have undertaken operations to dislodge protesters who have been blocking access to the Ambassador Bridge linking Canada to the United States for several days.
The police ordered the protesters to return to their homes. Several began to take down their tents and pack their things.
However, demonstrators remained at the scene in their vehicles or on foot. Some carried the Canadian flag, sometimes shouting “freedom! “.
Police maintain a large presence at the entrance to the bridge, Canada’s busiest border crossing.
The Ontario Superior Court had granted an injunction ordering protesters to clear the lanes, beginning at 7 p.m. Friday. Despite this deadline, demonstrators were still present on the spot very early Saturday morning.
On Friday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford declared a state of emergency, which allows fines of up to $100,000 to be imposed on offenders and up to one year in prison for offenders. people who continue to illegally block roads, bridges, walkways and other critical infrastructure.
Mr Ford and his federal counterpart Justin Trudeau have warned protesters, who are demanding an end to health orders and restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, that the sanctions they face could ruin their lives if they do not return home them.
The blockade of the bridge harms cross-border trade worth hundreds of millions of dollars. United States President Joe Biden and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer have urged Canadian authorities to reopen the post and stem the economic haemorrhage that now threatens the livelihoods of large numbers of people in the two sides of the border.