Listen to this article
Estimated 4 minutes
The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to stall the opening of the new border crossing between Detroit and Windsor, Ont., is “just insane,” said Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens.
In wide-ranging post on Truth Social Monday, Trump complained that Canada has treated the United States unfairly and says he will not allow the 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.”
“With all that we have given them, we should own, perhaps, at least one half of this asset,” Trump wrote.
Dilkens said he believes the bridge will open and “[this] is just another speed bump that Donald Trump has put in the way of doing good things, not just for our country but for his as well,” Dilkens told CBC.
“It’s just insane, when I read that post I can’t believe what I’m reading, but it’s par for the course,” Dilkens said.
He also said that some parts of Trump’s post were incorrect: American steel was used on the American side of the bridge, contrary to his claim there were no American products used.
The $6.4-billion cost of the Gordie Howe Bridge, poised to become the newest border crossing between Windsor, Ont., and Detroit, has been entirely funded by Canada’s federal government. U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening to block its opening until “the United States is fully compensated for everything we have given them,” he said, referring to Canada, in a Truth Social post Monday.
The Gordie Howe International Bridge has been entirely paid for by the Canadian federal government and costs will be recovered through tolls when the bridge opens.
The project is a public-private partnership between the Windsor Detroit Bridge Authority, a Canadian Crown corporation, and Bridging North America, the private-sector partner that includes a handful of companies responsible for the design, building, operation and maintenance of the bridge and both ports of entry.
In a statement, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s press secretary noted the benefits to Michigan’s auto industry and workers.
“It’s going to open one way or another, and the governor looks forward to attending the ribbon cutting,” said Stacey LaRouche.
And Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat, said Trump’s threat to “tank” the bridge punishes Michigan residents “for a trade war he started.”
“Canceling this project will have serious repercussions. Higher costs for Michigan businesses, less secure supply chains, and ultimately, fewer jobs,” she wrote on X.
Former Liberal MP for Windsor-Tecumseh Irek Kusmierczyk said on social media Monday night workers from both countries built the bridge for “shared prosperity.”
“Threatening to block it puts politics ahead of workers and families on both sides of the border,” he wrote.
Stephen Hargreaves is the director of the Sandwich Town BIA, where the bridge is located.
“It was a surprise to read that this evening,” he said, noting it’s a federal issue. “But we hope to see this resolved as we’d like to see the impact of the Gordie Howe International Bridge positively impact our community.”
In 2024, the cost of the bridge had risen to $6.4 billion. It was first expected to open in fall 2025, after delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, but is now expected to open in the coming months. Earlier this month, bridge officials declined to comment on the bridge’s potential opening date.
It will be the third border crossing between the two cities, joining the Ambassador Bridge and the Windsor-Detroit Tunnel.
The new bridge has been the focus of a decade-long legal battle between the American owners of the existing Ambassador Bridge and the federal government.
The owners of the Ambassador Bridge, the Moroun family of Detroit, wants compensation for what they claim is the new bridge’s infringement on their exclusive right to collect tolls.
The Moroun family appealed to Trump during his first term as president to stop the new crossing. However, Trump endorsed the bridge as a priority project in 2017, issuing a joint statement with then-prime minister Justin Trudeau calling it a “vital economic link between our two countries.”
