After behind-the-scenes political scuffles rendered its future uncertain, the Gordie Howe International Bridge—which will connect Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, Mich.—will open this month, according to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony slated to take place Friday will mark the project’s completion. Jointly owned and operated by Canada and the state of Michigan, the bridge’s construction was conceived as a bid to improve cross-border trade between the North American neighbors.
The Detroit Regional Chamber estimated that over 4 million trucks cross the Detroit-Windsor border annually, making up a whopping 63 percent of the truck traffic in the northern U.S. Michigan exports about $25.6 billion in goods and services to Canada every year, and imports $44.8 billion in products to the U.S. market.
Connecting Highway 401 in Ontario with Interstate 75 in Michigan, the six-lane thoroughfare is expected to reduce congestion at surrounding border crossings while facilitating a freer flow of goods between the countries.
Despite its potential to alleviate bottlenecks at the border, the project has not seen smooth sailing; earlier this year, American President Donald Trump threatened to delay indefinitely the bridge’s opening and demanded “at least” half of its ownership.
“I will not allow this bridge to open until the United States is fully compensated for everything we have given them, and also, importantly, Canada treats the United States with the Fairness and Respect that we deserve,” Trump Truthed in February.
Built by Canada, the bridge cost $4.7 billion to erect, according to Canadian media reports.
Icy relations between the U.S. and Canada have thawed to a manageable temperature in recent weeks as negotiations surrounding the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement have ramped up. The trilateral trade agreement faces a six-year review in early July which will determine whether it remains in place for the next 10 years—or 16 years, as Canada has proposed—or whether it will face a cycle of cumbersome annual reviews.
Carney struck a conciliatory tone as he walked into Parliament Tuesday, seeming to offer up the bridge as an olive branch; “a symbol, but also a fact of cooperation” between the U.S. and Canada. Named for the late Detroit Red Wings star hockey player, the Gordie Howe bridge has been under construction since 2018 and its completion stands to be “[g]reat for Canadians going across the border, Americans coming across the border, and for commerce,” the prime minister told reporters.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer met with Trump Chief of Staff Susie Wiles before invitations for the ribbon-cutting ceremony were sent out, according to the Union Bulletin.
Former Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, who helped broker the deal with the Canadian government during his term in office, took issue with Trump’s threats against the project earlier this year, writing in an op-ed in The Detroit News that Canada was “wonderful and financed the entire bridge,” noting that the nation will be repaid with interest through toll collection. After the debt is repaid, Michigan and Ontario will split the toll revenue.
The U.S., he said, was granted 50 percent ownership over the bridge without investing in its construction. It was crafted with materials from suppliers on both sides of the border using both American and Canadian labor, and it will be operated by the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority.
