Gordie Howe International Bridge [Reuters]
Gordie Howe International Bridge [Reuters]

The Gordie Howe International Bridge, which US President Donald Trump once threatened to shut down as a pressure tactic against Canada, will open later this month, AFP reported Saturday.

Canada's Infrastructure Ministry said in a statement that day that Canada and the US state of Michigan had agreed, with US government support, to open the Gordie Howe International Bridge on July 27.

The bridge connects Detroit, Michigan, with Windsor, Ontario. It cost $4.5 billion in total and broke ground in 2018.

The bridge had originally been scheduled for an opening ceremony on June 12, but the event was postponed the day before, with officials citing "technical issues." At the time, observers speculated that pressure from Trump had played a role in the delay.

In February, Trump criticized the Barack Obama administration, claiming the United States had been treated unfairly during the bridge's construction. He warned he would block all traffic across the bridge unless Canada transferred more than half of its ownership stake to the United States or accepted American trade demands.

The bridge was named after the late Gordie Howe, a legendary NHL player born in Canada who starred for the Detroit Red Wings. Once a symbol of goodwill between the two countries, it quickly became a flashpoint of bilateral tension.

Responding to the Canadian announcement, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that he had "made a much better deal for the United States" and would therefore "allow the new and magnificent Gordie Howe International Bridge connecting Detroit and Ontario to open as scheduled on July 27."

Canadian authorities did not publicly disclose what concessions they made to the US side.

The bridge was built by the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority (WDBA), a Canadian federal Crown corporation, and is jointly owned by Canada and Michigan. Under a 2012 bilateral agreement, the Canadian government agreed to front the entire construction cost and recoup it through future toll revenues — an arrangement that led to the 2018 groundbreaking.

Once the bridge opens, traffic on the Ambassador Bridge — the existing trade corridor — is expected to decline. The American family that owns it has lobbied the Trump administration to block the opening, arguing that the new crossing infringes on their monopoly.

The Ambassador Bridge is the busiest border crossing between the two countries for commercial freight. In 2023, goods transported by commercial trucks through the crossing totaled $126 billion in trade value.

According to a University of Windsor research report, the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge is expected to cut border crossing times by 20 minutes and save the trucking industry $2.3 billion over 30 years.


mokiya@heraldcorp.com