Canadian 'Freedom Convoy' forces the shutdown of General Motors, Ford automotive plants

The Freedom Convoy truckers shut down a Ford plant on Wednesday as the COVID-19 restrictions protesters lined a bridge between Canada and Detroit.

The protest prevented the flow of traffic between Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, as the group blocked the Ambassador Bridge for the third day.

Traffic into the U.S. otherwise was not impeded. The bridge supports 25% of all trade between the U.S. and Canada, increasing the worry by Canadian authorities about the economic impact of the protest.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is still saying "no" to easing COVID restrictions and will not meet with the leaders of the convoy. 

On Wednesday, Ford said it was forced to shut down its engine plant in Windsor due to a shortage of parts and place an assembly plant in Oakville, Ontario, on a reduced schedule for the same reason.

"This interruption on the Detroit-Windsor bridge hurts customers, auto workers, suppliers, communities and companies on both sides of the border," Ford said in a statement. "We hope this situation is resolved quickly because it could have widespread impact on all automakers in the U.S. and Canada."

The General Motors factory near Lansing, Mich., was also forced to cancel its second shift of the day, though a spokesman said production is expected to restart Thursday with no additional impact expected for now.

Toyota also says it will not be able to manufacture anything at three of its Canadian plants for the rest of the week, though the company attributed the issue to supply chain problems coupled with weather issues.

Truckers protesting against Trudeau's border vaccine mandate are blocking the border crossing at Coutts, Alberta, as more than 400 trucks continue to occupy downtown Ottawa, Canada's capital.

The provinces of Alberta, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan and Quebec announced plans this week to drop some of their COVID restrictions, but Trudeau has remained unwilling to budge on federal mandates.

While leaders of the Windsor government say they are not going to allow the bridge blockage to go on for "a prolonged period of time," one of the protest organizers said Wednesday that "the media are drastically underestimating the resolve and patience of truckers."