As another blockade of the Canada-U.S. border sprung up, further choking trade and traffic between the two nations, sources tell CTV News that the Ontario government will invoke new emergency measures on Friday and possibly issue a state of emergency.
Sources tell CTV News that Ontario will use the measures to levy stiffer fines and penalties, with Premier Doug Ford set to meet with his cabinet on Friday.
The news comes amid a string of blockades and protests across Canada that have followed the Freedom Convoy in Ottawa, which began two weeks ago as a demonstration against vaccine mandates and pandemic restrictions.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is warning members of the public to avoid the area near the border community of Emerson, Man., where trucks and farm equipment have blocked the international port of entry with the United States.
Amid heightened tensions in multiple Ontario cities, including Ottawa, Windsor and Sarnia, the office of Premier Doug Ford issued a statement on Thursday saying the province had successfully applied for a court order to freeze the distribution of millions of dollars in donations raised for the Freedom Convoy.
A spokesperson said the province's attorney general brought an application to the Ontario Superior Court prohibiting anyone from distributing donations made through the Freedom Convoy 2022 and Adopt-a-Trucker campaigns on GiveSendGo.
Organizers of the fundraiser migrated to the U.S.-based platform after GoFundMe removed the initial Freedom Convoy campaign, which had raised more than $10 million, for allegedly violating the company's terms of service.
"This afternoon, the order was issued," the statement from the province said. "It binds any and all parties with possession or control over these donations."
GiveSendGo responded on Twitter saying, "Canada has absolutely ZERO jurisdiction" over how the company manages its funds.
In the nation's capital, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino confirmed to reporters before Question Period on Thursday that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police will send more resources to end the blockades in Ottawa, Windsor, Ont., and Coutts, Alta.
"I'm pleased to advise that the RCMP are going to be sending additional reinforcements to Ottawa. I can also advise that the RCMP will be sending reinforcements to Windsor, and in addition to that, the RCMP have added additional resources in Coutts in Alberta," Mendicino said, adding that the priority is ending the "illegal blockades."
Ottawa had previously requested 1,800 more officers from the Ontario and federal governments, with 250 RCMP officers deployed since.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also spoke to reporters and reiterated that the barricades are "unacceptable."
"They are impacting on regular Canadians …. This is hurting communities across the country. That's why I've been working closely with municipal leaders, with all of our partners, I had a long conversation with Premier Ford last night. We're going to continue to do what's necessary to end these barricades," he said.
Later Thursday evening, Trudeau held meetings with ministers, the mayor of Windsor and Opposition leaders to discuss the protests.
At the same time as the Emerson border crossing in Manitoba remained closed, the City of Winnipeg began exploring possible court action to deal with a trucker protest at the Manitoba legislature.
Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman has called the protest an unlawful "occupation," a term that has been used to describe ongoing demonstrations elsewhere, namely in Ottawa.
In the community of Steinbach, Man., located southeast of Winnipeg, a protest against COVID-19 measures held outside of a local school caused it to go into a hold-and-secure protocol.
Meanwhile, interim Conservative Leader Candice Bergen put forward a motion in the House of Commons to force a vote calling for the federal government to present a plan to lift all federal COVID-19 "mandates and restrictions" by the end of the month.
Bergen, who represents the Manitoba riding of Portage-Lisgar, also issued a message to protesters, calling on them to remove their barricades and come together in the face of a "hurting" economy.
"I believe this is not what you want to do .... You're protesting because you love your country, you want your freedom back. To the protesters here in Ottawa, you came bringing a message, that message has been heard."
In a tweet Thursday, Ottawa police said they were experiencing "a concerted effort" to flood 911 and the non-emergency policing reporting line.
"This endangers lives and is completely unacceptable," the tweet reads. "It is a crime to unnecessarily call 911 or our non-emergency number. We track calls and will charge anyone deliberately interfering with emergencies."
Speaking during a news conference Thursday afternoon, Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly said while not exclusively from the United States, a significant number of the calls came from U.S.-based addresses.
A City of Ottawa planning committee YouTube livestream was hacked briefly Thursday morning, with a black screen showing to the participants that said, "OTTAWA POLICE HAS FAILED ITS CITIZENS, Jim Watson has failed us, Sloly has failed us, Trudeau has failed us."
Coun. Caitlin Salter MacDonald told the restarted livestream meeting that they were "able to resolve the security issue that allowed someone to briefly gain access to the livestream for the planning committee," and that they would be doing a review after the meeting "to ensure that does not occur again."
In another example of how complex the situation in Ottawa has become, protesters have taken it upon themselves to designate members of the group as officers of the peace.
In a ceremony witnessed on social media Thursday, protesters in Ottawa can be seen on video "swearing themselves in as peace officers" and taking a vow which they allege deputizes them to "arrest and detain" anyone they deem as disturbing the peace.
The protesters in the video claim the Ottawa Police Service is aware of their actions. There are strict definitions in the Criminal Code of Canada as to who can act as a peace officer.
Some of the protesters moved toward the Ottawa airport on Thursday morning, with about 30 pickups driving slowly around the loop at the airport and honking their horns.
On ongoing police operations, Sloly confirmed they recently negotiated the departure of 22 additional trucks, although about 400 remain in the "red zone" around Parliament Hill, and officers continue to seize firewood and fuel.
He said police also have issued more than 1,700 tickets to date, made 25 total arrests, have 126 active criminal investigations and seen more than 408 incidents reported to its hate hotline.
"We know that the residents of Ottawa are angry, we know that you are tired, we know that you want your neighbourhoods back. You have suffered and we will ensure those responsible face the consequences," he said.
The protest and blockade of the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ont., which connects Canada and the U.S. via Detroit, has been ongoing since Monday, prompting Windsor city officials and local police to request provincial and federal assistance.
In an update Thursday, Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens said that Windsor City Council met and authorized steps to seek a legal injunction from the Superior Court of Ontario "to bring about an end to the illegal occupation."
Dilkens said the protesters are trespassing and will be removed if necessary, adding that additional resources from the Ontario Provincial Police have been deployed.
Several car plants in Canada and the U.S. have cancelled shifts or shut down production in their plants, pointing to delays at the border for parts crucial for vehicle production.
U.S. officials have rerouted some commercial traffic to the Blue Water Bridge that connects Canada to the U.S. via Sarnia, Ont., and Port Huron, Mich., to alleviate some of the pressure at the Ambassador Bridge.
In a statement issued Thursday, the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) said all Canadians have the right to peaceful protest, but that the individuals preventing vehicles and trade from the U.S. and Canada are not "peaceful protesters."
"The patience of drivers and the vast majority of the trucking industry regarding these blockades has long-since expired," CTA president Stephen Laskowski in the statement.
"The trucking industry and its drivers are paying a heavy price for the unlawful actions of those who choose to politicize and target our borders and highways and choke off trade between Canada and the United States. Their actions simply hurt Canadians and they have shown a blatant disregard for all the lives they are impacting."
The statement calls on "all levels of government" to end the current blockades.
Speaking on CTV News Channel on Thursday, the CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce said the situation at the Ambassador Bridge and other ports of entry from the U.S. is "an exceptionally serious situation."
"It is affecting Canadian families, it is affecting Canadian workers and it is affecting Canadian businesses," Perrin Beatty said.
"Its effect is immediate. Every hour that this continues, more damage is being done, and it is critical that is resolved as quickly as possible and as peacefully as possible."
Beatty said Canadians are recognizing the fact that there is a "national crisis" regarding the trucker convoy and subsequent blockades, and that it is coming down to leadership.
"They are expecting their leaders to lead, and most importantly they are expecting their elected leaders of whatever party to be clear that they believe in the rule of law," he said.
At the border blockade at Coutts, Alta., the RCMP moved in on Wednesday and were met with angry protesters who chanted "hell no, we won't go" as the officers attempted to move them away from the border crossing.
Officers working to dismantle a second Alberta blockade approximately 15 kilometres north of Coutts at Milk River started issuing tickets and asked protesters to move to an area off the highway, citing safety concerns.
Police say a handful of tickets for violations of the province's Traffic Safety Act were handed out.
In another challenge to pandemic restrictions, the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms announced Thursday its plans to file a legal application in federal court, on behalf of People's Party of Canada Leader Maxime Bernier, in response to mandates preventing Canadians who aren't fully vaccinated from travelling by air.
With files from CTV News and CTVNews.ca Online Politics Producer Rachel Aiello
A man set himself on fire on Friday outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump's historic hush-money trial was taking place as jury selection wrapped up, but officials said he did not appear to have been targeting Trump.
Michael Gordon Jackson, a Saskatchewan man accused of abducting his daughter to prevent her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, has been found guilty for contravention of a custody order.
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
The Body Shop Canada is exploring a sale as it struggles to get its hands on enough inventory to keep up with "robust" sales after announcing it would file for creditor protection and close 33 stores.
Police in Sault Ste. Marie charged a 22-year-old man with animal cruelty following an attack on a dog Thursday morning.
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says Canada's fiscal position has 'not changed significantly' following the release of the federal government's budget.
A one-page contract for the purchase of a B.C. home that was handwritten in Chinese has been deemed valid in the province's Supreme Court, leaving the would-be buyer on the hook for more than $400,000.
A rescue operation for an orca calf trapped in a remote tidal lagoon off Vancouver Island has been put on hold after it started eating seal meat thrown in the water for what is believed to be the first time.
Mounties say seven people have been arrested after a series of co-ordinated property searches on Vancouver Island yielded multiple firearms, including 3D-printed handguns, and several kilograms of drugs.
Ontario Registered Early Childhood Educators (RECEs) are still waiting for their promised 2024 wage increases and advocates say the delay is causing stress for workers.
The U.S.’s Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a video that appears to show unauthorized personnel in the cockpit of a charted Colorado Rockies flight to Toronto.
Police have released video footage of a dramatic takedown of a group of teens wanted in connection with an attempted carjacking in Markham earlier this month.
It seemed like their world was crashing in when free mental health services changed the lives of a Calgary family and now they are trying to help others get the same support.
Winston Campbell granted bail at first court appearance
More than three dozen of Alberta's largest water users have agreed with a provincial plan to cut back on water usage this year ahead of a severe drought expected this summer.
As the City of Ottawa faces a housing shortage, there is controversy brewing in Centretown over a proposed redevelopment that many tenants say could leave them homeless.
Time could soon run out on free on-street parking in Ottawa's Westboro, Wellington West and Hintonburg neighbourhoods.
Ontario Provincial Police are reminding people that it is illegal to fly a drone over traffic collision sites, after drone footage captured over a fatal crash on Hwy. 417 in Ottawa appeared online.
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
A 39-year-old woman was sent to hospital with serious injuries after police say she was stabbed inside a motel room in Montreal's west end Friday morning.
There was once a beautiful restaurant on the ninth floor of the former Eaton's department store. It closed 25 years ago, but many in Montreal still talk about it. Soon, Le 9ieme will open to diners once again.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The city's transition to governing its own police force comes as Alberta's public safety minister cites concerns with the province's policing contract with the RCMP, which expires in 2032.
Family and friends of an Edmonton couple killed in an impaired driving crash packed into a courtroom for the sentencing hearing Friday.
Brad Johns, Nova Scotia’s justice minister has resigned, according to a short statement from Premier Tim Houston on Friday evening.
The RCMP says a 'dangerous man' with a firearm in Bible Hill, N.S., is in custody Friday morning.
Gary Crossman, New Brunswick’s minister of environment and climate change, is resigning from Blaine Higgs’ Progressive Conservative cabinet immediately.
Mrs. Mikes shut down last year after a half-century of serving the community. Now its doors have reopened and Winnipeggers were lined up to get their fill, even as snow fell on them.
Tiber River, a shop that sells natural body care products, is ceasing operations.
A Manitoba mother is praising firefighters for their quick work in helping her daughter who got stuck at a playground in Lorette, Man.
Michael Gordon Jackson, a Saskatchewan man accused of abducting his daughter to prevent her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, has been found guilty for contravention of a custody order.
Saskatoon police say they will begin searching the city’s landfill for the remains of Mackenzie Lee Trottier, who has been missing for more than three years.
Four new passing lanes are expected to be added along Highway 10 from Fort Qu’Appelle to Melville in the coming years.
A controversial land acquisition proposed in Wilmot Township is once again in the spotlight, as Ontario NDP leader Marit Stiles hosts a town hall in the community, calling the deal “eerily similar” to the Greenbelt scandal.
A Canadian Hall of Fame golfer from Kitchener is finally getting recognition for starting the skip-shot tradition at The Masters.
Two Kitchener-Waterloo music organizations have placed an employee on a leave of absence after he was charged in a historical sexual assault investigation.
A Saskatoon Provincial Court judge will determine whether testimony from a woman, charged with impaired driving causing the death of a child, will be used as evidence in her trial.
Saskatoon police say they will begin searching the city’s landfill for the remains of Mackenzie Lee Trottier, who has been missing for more than three years.
Michael Gordon Jackson, a Saskatchewan man accused of abducting his daughter to prevent her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, has been found guilty for contravention of a custody order.
Police in Sault Ste. Marie charged a 22-year-old man with animal cruelty following an attack on a dog Thursday morning.
A man set himself on fire on Friday outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump's historic hush-money trial was taking place as jury selection wrapped up, but officials said he did not appear to have been targeting Trump.
A flood warning was issued Friday for the Lake Nipissing shoreline in North Bay, Callander and the Parks Creek watershed.
‘Onto Adelaide and just zip down’: Cars no longer have to deal with trains on Adelaide Street North, near Central Avenue.
A witness at the sexual assault trial involving parents is adamant the children involved in the trial are all telling the truth about what they had to endure during their upbringing.
A city councillor said she’s concerned the city is encouraging homeless encampments rather than finding more permanent solutions.
One person has been charged following a collision on Highway 400 in Barrie Friday morning that sent a vehicle rolling into a ditch.
Police are hoping to identify the person(s) who allegedly broke into a Barrie home and caused extensive water damage.
A section of Duckworth Street in Barrie's east end will be closed for several months so that crews can continue the improvement project.
A Windsor man convicted in a violent murder 20 years ago awaits ruling on bid for early parole.
Windsor police have charged a 21-year-old man with stunt driving following a collision at a commercial property.
Windsor photographer and director Syx Langemann is hosting a free Record Store Day screening of his new docuseries ‘Spinning Stories’ that explores the recent resurgence in vinyl records.
A rescue operation for an orca calf trapped in a remote tidal lagoon off Vancouver Island has been put on hold after it started eating seal meat thrown in the water for what is believed to be the first time.
Mounties say seven people have been arrested after a series of co-ordinated property searches on Vancouver Island yielded multiple firearms, including 3D-printed handguns, and several kilograms of drugs.
In Colwood, B.C., there are 35 residential homes in the tsunami inundation zone.
A banana ball python that was stolen from a Kelowna pet store on Saturday has been returned unharmed, Mounties said.
Nurses held a rally Wednesday at a hospital in the B.C. Interior that closed its emergency department more than a dozen times last year due to insufficient staff.
British Columbia is planning to add 240 new units to its complex-care housing program, providing homes for people with mental-health and addictions challenges that overlap with other serious conditions.
The province has announced the largest water sharing agreement in Alberta’s history, which will see Lethbridge and Medicine Hat, among other municipalities, cut water use.
Mounties say a 32-year-old Medicine Hat woman has been charged in connection with the theft of $60,000 from the Redcliff Legion.
Three men who helped lead and co-ordinate the 2022 border blockade at Coutts, Alta., have been found guilty of public mischief.
A Sault Ste. Marie-based support group for women is hoping to work with other groups to provide more inclusive services.
The war of words between the presidents of Sault College and Conestoga College has escalated into a legal battle.
A 43-year-old has been charged in Sault Ste. Marie after police recorded a vehicle being driven at 113 km/h, nearly double the posted speed limit.
Technology from the 19th century has been brought out of retirement at a Newfoundland gardening store, as staff look for all the help they can get to fill orders during a busy season.
A Celebrity Apex cruise to the Caribbean this month turned into a rocking Newfoundland kitchen party when hundreds of people from Canada's easternmost province happened to be booked on the same ship.
A pricing agreement has been reached between crab fishers and seafood processors that will allow for Newfoundland and Labrador's annual crab fishery to get started.
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly Knight, a grade four student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.
When Les Robertson was walking home from the gym in North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale neighbourhood three weeks ago, he did a double take. Standing near a burrow it had dug in a vacant lot near East 1st Street and St. Georges Avenue was a yellow-bellied marmot.
A moulting seal who was relocated after drawing daily crowds of onlookers in Greater Victoria has made a surprise return, after what officials described as an 'astonishing' six-day journey.
Just steps from Parliament Hill is a barber shop that for the last 100 years has catered to everyone from prime ministers to tourists.
A high score on a Foo Fighters pinball machine has Edmonton player Dave Formenti on a high.
A compound used to treat sour gas that's been linked to fertility issues in cattle has been found throughout groundwater in the Prairies, according to a new study.
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says Canada's fiscal position has 'not changed significantly' following the release of the federal government's budget.
Canada's premiers are warning the federal government not to overreach into their jurisdictions when it comes to delivering the programs laid out in Ottawa's latest budget.
Canada called for 'all parties' to de-escalate rising tensions in the Mideast following an apparent Israeli drone attack against Iran overnight.
Dengue cases are surging in the Americas, with cases reported topping 5.2 million as of this week, surpassing a yearly record set in 2023, according to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).
The World Health Organization is likely to issue a wider warning about contaminated Johnson and Johnson-made children's cough syrup found in Nigeria last week, it said in an email.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is encouraging veterinarians to keep an eye out for signs of avian influenza in dairy cattle following recent discoveries of cases of the disease in U.S. cow herds.
Olympic organizers unveiled their strategy Friday to use artificial intelligence in sports, joining the global rush to capitalize on the rapidly advancing technology.
An ancient giant snake in India might have been longer than a school bus and weighed a tonne, researchers reported Thursday.
New archeological investigations in Guatemala reveal that the ancient Maya people had a ritual of burning royal human remains as a public display of political regime change.
She's the title character of 'Bluey,' a kids' program consisting of seven-minute episodes that have enraptured children and adults alike. This week's release of its longest episode yet — at a whopping 28 minutes — prompted an outpouring of appreciation for the show, even from those who are neither toddler nor parent.
During a guest appearance on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live,' Nick Offerman told a story from years ago he said his parents didn't know: he once spent a night in jail.
On Friday, the pop star released her 11th album and at 2 a.m. Eastern, she released "The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology," featuring 15 additional songs.
Lululemon Athletica will close its distribution centre in the state of Washington at the end of the year and lay off more than 100 employees, the apparel retailer told Reuters on Friday.
Netflix shares fell on Friday, as its surprise move to stop sharing subscriber additions and average revenue per member from 2025 sowed doubts in investor minds about growth peaking in some markets for the streaming pioneer.
The Body Shop Canada is exploring a sale as it struggles to get its hands on enough inventory to keep up with "robust" sales after announcing it would file for creditor protection and close 33 stores.
A GoFundMe campaign for a Moncton drummer has raised around $49,500 in just a few weeks.
Hospital chaplain J.S. Park opens up about death, grief and hearing thousands of last words, and shares his advice for the living.
Saturday marks marijuana culture’s high holiday, 4/20, when college students gather — at 4:20 p.m. — in clouds of smoke on campus quads and pot shops in legal-weed states thank their customers with discounts.
The U.S.’s Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a video that appears to show unauthorized personnel in the cockpit of a charted Colorado Rockies flight to Toronto.
The Winnipeg Jets will face the Colorado Avalanche for the first time ever in the Stanley Cup Playoffs
Eight of Formula One legend Michael Schumacher's luxury and personalized watches are going up for auction – and they could sell for more than US$4.8 million in total.
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
Tesla is recalling 3,878 of its 2024 Cybertrucks after it discovered that the accelerator pedal can become stuck, potentially causing the vehicle to accelerate unintentionally and increase the risk of a crash.
A driver from London will have to find alternative transportation after an OPP officer clocked them travelling nearly 200 km/h on Highway 401 over the weekend.
The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at CTV News. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop. Read about us.
