The head the union representing Canada's border agents says Friday's job action was unfortunate, but necessary.
A tentative deal was struck late Friday night, but not before trucks and vehicles were backed up for more than 50-miles leading up to the Ambassador Bridge.
The more than 9,000 CBSA workers are designated as essential employees, which prevented them from simply walking off the job.
Public Service Alliance of Canada President Chris Aylward says members made their point without abandoning their posts.
"To the point where the truckers associations said that it was already having an impact on the economy," he says. "Once the politicians and treasury board officials saw that, I guess that's when they realized that they needed to get this settled."
Aylward expects Friday's backlog to be cleared in time to welcome U.S. travellers for non-essential visits.
"We expect that it will be cleared up by Monday. We didn't want to go on strike in the first place," he says. "When we started the job action on Friday I think it became evident to the government that they want to get to a deal sooner rather than later."
The new four-year agreement includes a 2 per cent wage increase each year and better protections against excessive discipline in the workplace.
The deal is retroactive, which means it expires in June of 2022.
A date to ratify the agreement hasn't been set.