Carney says the new Canadian-built bridge across Detroit River that Trump threatened will open
TORONTO (AP) — A Canadian-built new bridge US President along the Detroit River Donald Trump Canadian Prime Minister says blockage threat will be lifted by weekend Mark Carney He said Tuesday.
In February, Trump demanded Canada at least surrender half of the property agreed to the bridge and other unspecified demands in one of his many salvos cross-border trade issues.
According to information on the project’s website, the Gordie Howe International Bridge, which will connect Windsor, Ontario and Detroit in the US state of Michigan and will be a vital economic artery between Canada and the USA, was expected to open early this year.
The bridge is named after Canadian hockey great Howe, who spent 25 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings.
The project was negotiated by former Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, a Republican, and paid for by the Canadian government to help ease congestion on the existing Ambassador Bridge and Detroit-Windsor tunnel. Work has been ongoing since 2018.
“Obviously, the bridge will open at the weekend. It is a symbol, but also a reality, of cooperation between our countries,” Carney told reporters as he entered parliament.
“It’s great for Canadians crossing the border, great for Americans crossing the border and great for trade,” he said, calling it “positive news.”
Trump threatened the bridge because the United States-Mexico-Canada trade deal is up for review this year, and ahead of those talks, Trump new tariff threats.
Meanwhile, Carney spoke on the world stage Against the economic pressure of the United States.
Sen. Elissa Slotkin, a Michigan Democrat, said the Canadian-financed project is a “huge boon” for her state and its economic future.
Michigan is a swing state that Trump ran in both 2016 and 2024.
Trump was wrong to claim that both the U.S. and Canadian sides of the Gordie Howe Bridge belong to Canada, Snyder wrote in an op-ed in The Detroit News earlier this year.
“Canada and the state of Michigan own the new bridge 50/50,” Snyder wrote. “Canada was great and fully financed the bridge. They will get paid back with interest on the tolls. Michigan and the United States took half ownership with no investment.”
The Gordie Howe Bridge will join the privately owned Ambassador Bridge as the second span connecting Detroit and Windsor, Ontario.
The rival Ambassador Bridge is considered the busiest U.S.-Canada border crossing, carrying 25% of all trade between the two countries. It plays an especially important role in automobile production.
Companies controlled by the Moroun family, which owns the rival Ambassador Bridge, had previously filed a lawsuit to block the Howe bridge from being built.
