Arrests made at the border between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia as RCMP break up a roadblock and reopen the border

Several arrests were made when dozens of police officers sought to disperse a huge group of demonstrators at the main border crossing between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, only a day after a protest about border restrictions began. At least two persons were arrested by RCMP at 8 p.m. Wednesday, as authorities formed a barrier between citizens and the highway.

People yelled in opposition to the relocation, but the majority obeyed police orders and walked to the side of the road. Marshall was unable to tell how many people had been arrested but said the figure will most certainly alter within the next two hours. The Nova Scotia RCMP reported in a tweet about 9:40 p.m. that Highway 104 westbound had reopened toward New Brunswick from Nova Scotia, and the eastbound lane was expected to reopen soon.

The border was reopened at 10:17 p.m., according to Nova Scotia's Transportation Department. In Tidnish, a minor border crossing on Highway 366 was accessible in both ways. A few transport trucks sat idle, waiting to cross the border from New Brunswick into Nova Scotia. The last of the remaining automobiles blocking the roadway was removed just before 9 p.m., and the trucks sounded their horns as they crossed into Nova Scotia.

The mood lightened, and some demonstrators engaged with RCMP officers, while others packed up and left. Protesters converged on the Trans-Canada Highway on Tuesday in opposition to new isolation and testing restrictions for people traveling from New Brunswick to Nova Scotia. The limitations were announced by Nova Scotia Premier Iain Rankin on Tuesday, just hours before the Atlantic provinces' restrictions were set to be eased, causing outrage on both sides of the border.

A spokesperson for the Mounties started early Wednesday that the Mounties have been present at the border demonstration since it began and have advised demonstrators to quit the route.

The assemblage of protestors and spectators at the border had swelled to roughly 150 individuals by the time police arrived to break up the roadblock. The blockage had caused pandemonium at the border and long waits for drivers throughout the day, stranded truckers with loads of products, and disrupted health services in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia.

Drivers at the less-congested border crossing in Tidnish, N.S., also complained about long delays caused by protesters.