TD Bank freezes two accounts that received funds in support of Canada protests

Demonstrators gather downtown as truckers and supporters continue to protest coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine mandates, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, February 12, 2022. REUTERS/Blair Gable

TORONTO (Reuters) - Toronto-Dominion Bank has frozen two personal bank accounts into which C$1.4 million ($1.1 million) had been deposited to support protesters fighting the Canadian government' pandemic measures, a bank spokesperson said on Saturday.

The demonstrations, now in their third week, have gridlocked the capital Ottawa and blocked U.S.-Canada border crossings, damaging trade between the two countries.

TD applied with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on Friday to take the funds, which were sent through GoFundMe and bank transfers, so they can either be sent to the intended recipients or returned to the donors "who have requested refunds but whose entitlement to a refund cannot be determined by TD," the bank said in a statement.

Early on Saturday, Canadian police began clearing protesters blocking a key bridge linking Canada and the United States..

($1 = 1.2736 Canadian dollars)