How the Gordie Howe bridge became symbol of a strained US-Canada relationship

Almost 15 years ago, Canada agreed to pay for the entire construction of the bridge to bypass U.S. political resistance and move the project, seen as necessary infrastructure to fix a trade bottleneck.

The bridge will help support the Canadian $1 billion (US$710 million; £530 million) worth of goods passing through the Windsor-Detroit crossing every day.

When Canada first took on the construction project, which would belong to both Ottawa and Michigan, it agreed to share toll revenue with the U.S. state only after its costs were paid.

Then, earlier this year, shortly before the planned ribbon-cutting ceremony, Trump said he would block its opening until Canada agreed to “share authority” and ownership.

“We should own at least half of this asset,” he said at the time.

The bridge has long drawn criticism from the Moroun family of Michigan, which owns its neighbor, the Ambassador Bridge, the busiest commercial border crossing in North America and one of the few privately owned border crossings.

According to the New York Times, billionaire Matthew Maroun, who is also a Trump donor, met with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick hours before the president’s comments.

In June, Carney announced that Canada had agreed to a US request that the opening of the bridge be delayed to allow for further negotiations.

Eager to open up the vital trade link, Ottawa agreed to share half of bridge revenues for the next 15 years with an economic development fund “controlled solely by the U.S. government.”

Trump claimed in a recent social media post that the new deal is “MUCH BETTER” for America.

The effects of the bridge come against the backdrop of a bitter trade dispute with Canada and the United States. While running to be elected prime minister, Carney promised to tackle the problem with an “elbows up” approach, a reference to the combative style of hockey invented by the late Gordie Howe himself.

Now Carney is facing backlash for his acquiescence to a U.S. administration that many Canadians feel has treated their country unfairly.

“We are facing an administration we have never seen before,” Colin Robertson, a former Canadian diplomat and a researcher at the Canadian Institute of Global Affairs, told the BBC.

“They’re breaking agreements. They’re not honoring agreements. It’s like dealing with pirates.”