Canadian judge orders an end to the blockade at a U.S.-Canada border bridge

A judge on Friday ordered protesters at the Ambassador Bridge over the U.S.-Canadian border to end the 5-day-old blockade that has disrupted the flow of goods between the two countries and forced the auto industry on both sides to roll back production.

It was not immediately clear when or if law enforcement officers would be sent in to remove the demonstrators, who parked their pickups and other vehicles in a protest against the country’s COVID-19 restrictions and an outpouring of fury toward Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Liberal government.

Chief Justice Geoffrey Morawetz of the Ontario Superior Court said during a virtual hearing that the order would be effective at 7 p.m. to give protesters time to leave.

Windsor police immediately warned that demonstrators blocking the streets could be subject to arrest and their vehicles may be seized.

The decision came after a 4 1/2-hour court hearing at which the city of Windsor and lawyers for auto parts makers argued that the blockade was causing undue economic harm for the city and region.

Supporters of the protesters, some of them truckers, argued that an order would disrupt their right to peacefully protest vaccine mandates that hinder their ability to earn a living.

Since Monday, drivers mostly in pickup trucks have bottled up the bridge connecting Windsor to Detroit. Hundreds more truckers have paralyzed downtown Ottawa over the past two weeks.

The ruling came in a day of fast-moving developments as federal, provincial and local officials moved simultaneously on different fronts to try to break the so-called Freedom Convoy standoff.

“This unlawful activity has to end and it will end,” Trudeau warned just hours earlier.

“We heard you. It’s time to go home now,” the prime minister said, cautioning that “everything is on the table” for ending the blockades.

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