As night fell tense stand-off continued at Ambassador Bridge protest

07:00 , Oliver O'Connell

A tense standoff at a US-Canadian border bridge eased somewhat on Saturday after Canadian police persuaded demonstrators to move the trucks they had used to barricade the busy international crossing. But protesters still blocked access as night approached, snarling traffic and trade between the two countries for a sixth day.

Since Monday, demonstrators upset with Covid-19 vaccine mandates and angry at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have choked off access from the Canadian side of the Ambassador Bridge linking Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, a major thoroughfare for commerce.

Surrounded by dozens of officers, a man with “Mandate Freedom” and “Trump 2024” spray-painted on his vehicle left the bridge entrance early in the day as others began dismantling a small, tarp-covered encampment. A trucker honked his horn as he, too, drove off, to cheers and chants of “Freedom!”

But more protesters arrived to reinforce the crowd and congregated about two blocks away, waving flags and yelling. While there were no visible physical confrontations, the crowd still controlled the road to the bridge and traffic had not resumed by late afternoon.

The demonstrations at the bridge, in downtown Ottawa and elsewhere have reverberated outside the country, with similarly inspired convoys in France, New Zealand and the Netherlands, and the US Department of Homeland Security warned that truck protests may be in the works in the United States.

Mr Trudeau has called the protesters a “fringe” of Canadian society.

Windsor police tweeted that no one had been arrested but urged people to stay away from the bridge: “We appreciate the cooperation of the demonstrators at this time and we will continue to focus on resolving the demonstration peacefully. Avoid area!”

Police fire tear gas as convoy protesters defy ban in Paris

06:30 , Oliver O'ConnellPolice fired tear gas on the Champs Elysees in Paris on Saturday as “Freedom Convoy” protesters defied an order to stay away and descended on the capital to demonstrate against coronavirus restrictions.DHS ‘surging staff’ to prevent Super Bowl disruption by US ‘freedom convoy’06:00 , Oliver O'ConnellThe Department of Homeland Security is “surging staff” to protect Sunday’s Super Bowl from an anticipated threat by the anti-vaccine mandate “freedom convoy” of truckers in the US.Speaking on Friday, ahead of action by Canadian police to remove truckers blocking the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ms Psaki said the DHS was taking “all necessary steps to ensure that the convoy does not disrupt lawful trade and transportation or interfere with federal government and law enforcement operations”.

Rand Paul says he’s ‘all for’ American truckers blockading the Super Bowl

04:59 , Oliver O'ConnellRepublican senator Rand Paul has called for American truckers to bring their own version of the ‘freedom convoy’ blockade to the Super Bowl and DC.Asked about the potential for a US convoy of truckers to target LA and DC during an interview with The Daily Signal, the Republican said he was “all for it”.“I’m all for it. Civil disobedience, civil disobedience is a time-honored tradition in our country from slavery to civil rights to you name it. Peaceful protest, clog things up, make people think about the mandates,” Mr Paul said.

Police began removing bridge protesters on Saturday morning

04:00 , Oliver O'ConnellCanadian police have moved in to remove truckers from a blockade at one the busiest border crossings to the US.It comes a day after an Ontario court granted an injunction to bring the barricade, which has now entered its sixth day, at the Ambassador Bridge to an end.Protesters remained overnight, despite fresh warnings to end the blockade, which has disrupted the flow of goods between the two countries and forced the auto industry on both sides to roll back production.

ICYMI: Ontario court grants injunction to end bridge blockade

03:00 , Oliver O'Connell

An Ontario court has granted an injunction to bring to an end to the blockade by truckers of the Ambassador Bridge crossing from the US into Canada.

Chief Justice Geoffrey Morawetz gave protesters until 7pm eastern time on Friday to clear the bridge, which has been shut down by truckers for five days and caused havoc at the US-Canada border.

Former Trump official has been spotted at Ottawa’s trucker convoy protest

02:00 , Oliver O'Connell

A one-time science adviser to the Trump administration has been in Ottawa for several days participating in the trucker convoy Covid-19 vaccine mandate protests.

Paul Alexander has described his presence there as a “personal mission”, CBC’s Alexander Panetta reports.

During his time in the Canadian capital, he has appeared on stage, at news conferences, alongside People’s Party of Canada Leader Maxime Bernier, and has been tweeting about supplying fuel to protesting truckers.

When will Canada’s ‘Freedom Convoy’ protest end?

01:00 , Oliver O'Connell

The “Freedom Convoy” of disgruntled long-haul truck drivers who crossed Canada to denounce tightening Covid-19 vaccine rules have now been present in the nation’s capital, Ottawa, for almost two weeks – and their protest looks no closer to reaching its end.

Protesters set for very cold night

00:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Ottawa’s public health agency has issued a frostbite warning until further notice.

The current temperature in the Canadian capital is -12C (10F) and is expected to dip to -23C (-9F).