DETROIT – Governor Gretchen Whitmer has responded to President Donald Trump’s threat to block the opening of the nearly finished Gordie Howe International Bridge connecting Detroit and Canada.
The Gordie Howe is owned by Michigan and Canada, but is being paid for almost entirely by Canada. The bridge does not have an official opening date, though it is expected to open to traffic this year. Construction started in 2018.
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Trump took to Truth Social on Monday, slamming Canada for what he called unfair trade deals, and threatened to block the opening of the bridge until “the United States is fully compensated for everything we have given” Canada.
--> Why Trump threatened to block opening of new bridge between Canada and Detroit
“We will start negotiations, IMMEDIATELY. With all that we have given them, we should own, perhaps, at least one half of this asset,” Trump said.
As part of the deal between Canada and Michigan, Canada is financing the majority of the construction for the bridge, which is nearly $4.5 billion. Canada intends to recoup the money through toll revenues once the bridge opens. The bridge is expected to have a big impact on Michigan’s economy.
Whitmer, after a bill signing in the Lansing area on Feb. 10, responded to Trump’s Truth Social post, saying, “The Canadians have paid for the bridge. The bridge was built with organized labor, union labor on both sides of the bridge, including Michiganders. It is a really important part of our economy, the largest crossing in North America. And so it is important that it continues to move forward and open up on time, and that’s my expectation.”
She was then asked if she had any conversations with any leaders regarding the situation. She said, “I don’t want to put too much onto those conversations until I speak directly with the president. But we are having a lot of conversations at the staff level, at the administration level, and those will continue. And, I know right now the Speaker of the House happens to be in Washington, D.C., and I think he’ll be raising this with the administration, too, as I would expect my predecessor to negotiate the deal and understands the importance of it to Michigan and is also a prominent Republican, hoping that we can bring some information to D.C. so that they understand why this has to continue to move forward.”
The bridge will be the third border crossing between Detroit and Ontario, joining the Ambassador Bridge, which is privately owned, and the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel.
The Windsor-Detroit corridor handles about 25% of all Canada-U.S. truck trade, moving tens of billions in goods each year.