Truck protest at Manitoba border over vaccine mandate for truckers

Truck drivers took to the Manitoba border Monday morning to protest a new vaccine mandate.

Drivers lined up along Highway 75 in response to the federal government's vaccine mandate that requires truckers to be fully vaccinated when returning from the United States or self-quarantine.

The new mandate came into effect on Saturday and a fleet of semi-trucks and trailers lined up down the road Monday.

The owner of the Emerson Duty Free Shop, Simon Resch, said despite the blockade, it didn't appear to impact traffic very much.

"No blockages to any of the service roads, the access roads, the provincial roads. I was able to access our parking lot at the duty-free, so were my co-workers. So from a passenger vehicle perspective, really no impact whatsoever," said Resch.

In a statement to CTV News, a spokesperson for the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) said the blockade didn't impact the CBSA operations.

"The Canada Border Services Agency continuously monitors its operations and is ready to respond with police of local jurisdiction if necessary to any protests impeding the flow of traffic to and from Canada," the spokesperson said.

A number of participants in the truck protest declined to speak with CTV News.