Canada and the United States have agreed to delay the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge connecting Ontario and Michigan, the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority said.
The opening has been delayed to take “the necessary time to resolve any outstanding issues,” the bridge authority said in a June 11 statement, without providing further details.
“The Gordie Howe International Bridge will be a vital economic link for Canada and the United States. As we work towards an opening date, we are taking a collaborative approach, reflecting our shared ambition for this trade corridor,” said Chuck Andary, interim CEO of the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority.
A new timeline for the opening has yet to be announced.
The Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority, a Canadian Crown corporation that owns the Gordie Howe Bridge, is composed of an equal number of representatives from Canada and Michigan.
Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters in Parliament on June 9 that the bridge would be open “by the end of the week.” He then said the following day that the bridge may open later than the end of the week, but that there’s “no big drama” in the delay.
“If it takes a little longer, it’ll take a little longer,” he told reporters on June 10, adding that the bridge will “benefit Canadians, Americans, business, tourists, residents for decades and decades to come.”
Carney told reporters on June 11 that Canada agreed to the delay “at the request of the United States.”
“There’s not great drama here. We’re going to work through some issues that have come up,” Carney said. Asked what those issues are specifically, the prime minister said a “series of technical aspects” were raised, which Canada and the United States will “work through.”
Invitations had already been set out for a ceremony set for June 12 to mark the opening of the $6.4 billion bridge. Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens had said it was rumoured that the bridge would be open to traffic on June 15.
A White House official told media on June 9 that U.S. Donald Trump’s position on the bridge had not changed since February, when he said he would not allow the bridge to open unless the United States was compensated for it. Trump argued that the bridge agreement, signed under former U.S. President Barack Obama, did not benefit the United States.
Trump had also raised concern that Canada would own both sides of the bridge, and that there should have been requirements to use American-made materials, such as steel.
Carney said in February that he had spoken with Trump on the issue, which he said would be “resolved.” He said he explained that ownership is shared between the government of Canada and the state of Michigan, and that workers and steel from both countries were used in the project.
Canada paid $4 billion for the bridge’s construction and, under the current agreement, those costs will be reimbursed through tolls collected from bridge users. Once the costs are fully recouped, toll revenue will be split, with half going to the state of Michigan.
The Windsor mayor said that while “we would all like” the bridge to open, “Canada need not fall on bent knee to make it happen.”
“Get us a great trade deal @MarkJCarney!” Dilkens said in a June 11 post on X.
Dilkens’ remarks come as the July 1 review of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement on free trade approaches. Trump said on June 10 that he is considering not renewing the trade pact.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s office said on June 11 that the Gordie Howe Bridge will be critical for her state and “we look forward to its opening.”
“Michigan secured a great deal on the financing of this bridge: we haven’t paid a dime, yet we will reap significant economic benefits for decades,” Whitmer’s office said. “This project is a powerful example of bipartisan and international co-operation, and the governor looks forward to attending the ribbon cutting ceremony when it happens.”
Trump had supported the bridge during his first administration, saying in a 2017 joint statement with then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that they looked forward to the bridge’s “expeditious completion” as a “vital economic link” between Canada and the United States.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said on June 9 that he heard conflicting reports and had doubts about the odds of the bridge opening as planned.
The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
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