Ontario is now officially in state of emergency

A state of emergency for the Canadian province of Ontario was officially declared today as anti-mandate protesters cut off US-Canada traffic along a key bridge.

Announcing the state of emergency order, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said that his order will “make crystal clear it is illegal and punishable to block and impede the movement of goods, people and services along critical infrastructure.” 

Ford’s state of emergency order gives police the power to fine or imprison protesters demonstrating against COVID-19 vaccine mandates in the city of Ottawa and elsewhere throughout the province.

The Premier warned of fines rising to $100,000 and up to a year imprisonment for those who don’t comply.

Ford called the protest a ‘siege, echoing Trudeau’s description of it as an ‘illegal occupation’ and threatened the demonstrators with ‘severe consequences,’ including taking away the commercial licenses of participating drivers.

The “critical infrastructure” in question is the Ambassador Bridge, which links Detroit, in the US state of Michigan, with Windsor, Ontario. This bridge, which accounts for about a quarter of all US-Canada trade, has been blockaded by rogue truckers since Monday, with automakers in Ontario winding down production as a result.

Truckers have also blocked US-Canada border crossings in Coutts, Alberta, and Emerson in Manitoba. Alberta announced a relaxation of its COVID-19 restrictions shortly after the blockade began, while the neighboring province of Saskatchewan also lifted its coronavirus curbs.

In the Canadian capital of Ottawa, hundreds of trucks remain parked in the city center on Friday, having arrived two weeks ago to protest a vaccine mandate requiring them to get jabbed to re-enter the country from the US.

The protest has since expanded, with many truckers calling for the immediate lifting of all COVID-19-related restrictions, and some demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has shown no indication that he intends to back down on the nationwide mandate though, and the truckers have refused to call off their protests until he does.