RCMP issues advisory against highway travel from south of Lethbridge to U.S. border

RCMP are advising against travel along a section of Highway 4 in southern Alberta, as a large demonstration disrupts traffic Saturday.

Cars, trucks, farm tractors and other vehicles have filled the highway — from south of Lethbridge, Alta., to the Canada-United States border crossing in Coutts — in support of a national trucker convoy that has arrived in Ottawa, with a stated goal of protesting the trucker COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

"This [congestion] is expected to continue for an unknown period of time," Alberta RCMP said on Twitter.

The protest in southern Alberta Saturday is in concert with a separate national convoy, which launched from the four corners of Canada to go protest the new rules on Parliament Hill. Thousands of participants have arrived in Ottawa, with traffic jams reported throughout the region.

Earlier this month, the federal government implemented a new policy for unvaccinated or partially vaccinated Canadians truckers — among other travellers previously exempted from entry requirements — entering Canada from the U.S.

Truckers who are not fully vaccinated must get a PCR test and quarantine.

Organizers reached out to Coutts Mayor Jim Willett earlier this week, letting the office know the convoy would not block entrances to the village.

The protest arrived near the community after 10 a.m. Saturday, and was "everything they advertised it would be," Willett said.

"It's very long, stretching off as far as you can see."

The protest came through the truck scale house, then was turned away by RCMP at the first entrance to Coutts prior to reaching the U.S. border, Willett said.

"Anybody in the convoy is being redirected back up the highway back up to Milk River," he said. "They're not getting anywhere close to the border."

Meanwhile, the Canada Border Services Agency is monitoring the situation and is ready to respond to "any events impeding the flow of traffic" at the Coutts border crossing, an agency spokesperson told CBC News.

Border crossings are ports that must not be accessed by people not trying to cross, the spokesperson said.

It's an offence under the Customs Act to hinder a border services officer from being able to do their work, they added.