Protesters block Canada-bound traffic on the Ambassador Bridge

Windsor’s police chief and the mayor asked for help on Wednesday from both federal and provincial governments, as officers on the ground continue to negotiate with protesters to end the blockade.

Police are asking for more personnel and more equipment to augment their response to the protest.

Right now, Canadian Border Services lists the Ambassador Bridge as temporarily closed, but some traffic to the U.S. can still get through.

Trucks on both sides are being diverted to the Blue Water Bridge in Sarnia, but they are having to wait nearly five hours to get across.

Windsor mayor Drew Dilkens demanded an end to the demonstrations on Wednesday saying he is concerned the blockade could create permanent harm to the area’s economy.

With the blockade at the border in Windsor stretching into day three, the city says it needs help and formally asked the federal and provincial governments for more manpower and equipment.

Dilkens says their community will not tolerate this level of disruption for long. It is the busiest trade corridor between the U.S. and Canada with about 4,000 trucks entering Canada every day.

The closure of the Ambassador Bridge has already created an auto parts supply problem that led to thousands of Windsor workers being sent home on Tuesday while others had their shifts cancelled on Wednesday. Hundreds of Canadian auto parts companies rely on the movement of materials across the bridge. Roughly $300 million in goods cross the bridge each day.

Flavio Volpe, of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association, calls the protest “braindead” saying it is already hurting working families and could lead to shortages of all kinds of goods in Canada. He wants law enforcement and governments to end the blockade immediately. “You don’t have a right to park your car in the middle of a highway, you and I can’t. We are emploring all levels of government. Do your job. Enforce the law,” said Volpe.

Windsor’s police chief Pam Mizuno says they are working to reopen the bridge through ongoing talks with protestors and are prioritizing maintaining peace and public safety. “We are taking a diplomatic approach and attempting to negotiate a safe and sustainable resolution,” said Mizuno.

Dilkens says he understands why people want police to move in and remove the protesters, but he says some of the protesters say they are willing to die for this cause and he doesn’t want to see anyone hurt.

Premier Ford issued a statement saying he has spoken with the mayors of Windsor and Sarnia and is offering whatever help they need. Ford said the blockade was illegal and called for it to stop.

Three federal ministers held an update on Ottawa’s response and also called the blockade illegal. They offered support to local police and called on all levels of government to work together to find a solution.

There is no timetable for an end to the vaccine mandates that sparked the protests coming from the Trudeau government.