OTTAWA — Pressure has mounted on both sides of the border, and across the political aisle in Canada, for protesters blockading key crossings with the U.S. and others encamped by Parliament Hill to go home, or for officials to move them out of the way.
Late Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called for all members of Parliament from every party to denounce the “illegal blockades and occupations happening across the country.”
Trudeau said he briefed the leaders of all opposition parties on the latest developments and stressed on them to call for an end to the blockades. There are blockades at border crossings near Coutts, Alta., Emerson, Man., and the busy Windsor-Detroit Ambassador Bridge.
“They’re harming the communities they’re taking place in – and they’re hurting jobs, businesses, and our country’s economy,” Trudeau said in a series of posts on Twitter.
“We’ll continue to work closely with municipal and provincial governments to end these blockades, and to make sure they have the resources they need.”
Trudeau said he also spoke with Mayor Drew Dilkens about the blockade of the Ambassador Bridge that links Windsor, Ont., with Detroit.
“We’re committed to helping the mayor and the province get the situation under control – because it is causing real harm to workers and economies on both sides of the border.”
The Canadian Trucking Alliance said Thursday the industry would pay a heavy price for the border actions. It called on governments to end the current blockades and provide a plan to prevent them from happening again.
By evening, Teamsters general president Jim Hoffa called for demonstrators to end their protest.
Political support for the protesters seemed to evaporate as well, as the interim Conservative leader, who two weeks ago suggested her party would do everything to make the demonstrations the prime minister’s problem, reversed course and cut her party’s support.
Speaking to the House of Commons, Candice Bergen called on protesters to go home and end activity that she said was hurting the country’s economic rebound from COVID-19.
“Take down all of the blockades. Protest peacefully and legally, but it’s time to remove the barricades and the trucks for the sake of the economy,” Bergen said.
South of the border, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in a written statement urged federal, provincial and local authorities in Canada to immediately end the blockades that threaten her state’s economy. She did so hours before a Michigan congresswoman, Elissa Slotkin, warned of similar protests in the future.