Canada opens Gordie Howe bridge without U.S.

The Gordie Howe International Bridge as seen from River Rouge, Mich., connecting Detroit with Windsor, Ontario. (Paul Sancya/AP)

Canadian officials opened a multibillion-dollar bridge connecting Michigan and Ontario, a 1.5-mile span that will improve efficiency for automakers and others, but which became a symbol of tension between the two allies in the Trump era. 

The Gordie Howe International Bridge has been in the works for more than a decade and is meant to speed the flow of tourists and commercial trucks between the U.S. and the industrial heartland of Canada — a critical supply route for the North American auto sector. 

The ribbon-cutting ceremony on July 24 was delayed after U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick intervened to renegotiate the financial terms of the bridge. The Trump administration and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government eventually struck a side agreement that allowed the bridge to open, with the U.S. getting a profit share for 15 years. A joint opening ceremony was planned. 

But after President Donald Trump threatened new 50% tariffs on a range of Canadian goods on July 20, officials in Carney’s government canceled that celebration. Instead, they held an event on the Canadian side of the border that didn’t include any American officials as speakers. 

Carney didn’t attend, but Ontario Premier Doug Ford did, along with Mark Wiseman, Canada’s ambassador in Washington, who was key to negotiating the compromise with the U.S.

The bridge is named after a famous Canadian hockey player who spent most of his career with the Detroit Red Wings, to symbolize close U.S.-Canada ties. Members of the Howe family were in attendance at the ceremony.

📷 Live from the #GordieHoweBridge Celebration: The Howe Family pic.twitter.com/RUQiqzXH3g — Gordie Howe International Bridge (@GordieHoweBrg) July 24, 2026

Ford, wearing a red Canadian hockey jersey with Howe’s name on the back, said that his province “will be ready to respond on any new American tariffs. We will not back down.”

But despite the ongoing trade dispute, he added: “I know Canadians love Americans and I know Americans love Canadians — and I know that bond will last for another over 200 years.” 

The Ontario leader has irritated Trump and his officials by retaliating against U.S. tariffs, including banning the retail sale of American wine and spirits in the government-run liquor stores in the province. 

Trump says ‘fine’

As the ceremony was happening, Trump posted on Truth Social: “Canada disinvited the United States of America to the opening of the Gordie Howe Bridge, which is fine, considering they are paying substantial TARIFFS to the United States.” Pete Hoekstra, the US ambassador to Canada, said earlier in the week he planned to attend.

Canada and the U.S. exchange hundreds of millions of dollars a day in auto parts and finished vehicles. Canada is the largest export market for U.S.-manufactured cars and trucks, and the U.S. is the largest buyer of Canadian-made vehicles. But that trade has depended in large part on the aging Ambassador Bridge, which is owned by the Moroun family of Michigan.

The region sees about C$300 billion ($213 billion) of cross-border trade a year, Canadian Infrastructure Minister Gregor Robertson said at the bridge-opening event in Windsor, Ontario. 

Canada and Michigan agreed in 2012 that Canada would pay for the bridge, which ended up costing around C$6.4 billion. Under the terms, Canada would collect the toll revenue for decades until the money was recouped, and after that, Michigan would share in the money. 

But the bridge’s opening was delayed after Lutnick blocked it, seeking a share of the toll revenue for the U.S. 

After weeks of negotiations, Canada agreed to direct 50% of the operating profit from the bridge to a U.S.-run regional development fund for 15 years. The original deal with Michigan remains in place as well. 

On June 15, 2012 I stood with Michigan Governor Rick Snyder to announce our agreement to build a new international crossing between Windsor and Detroit. In May 2015, the Governor and I together announced the bridge would be named in honour of Gordie Howe, a great Canadian hockey… pic.twitter.com/t2YI63N0Lo — Stephen Harper (@stephenharper) July 24, 2026

Robertson said the agreement should boost the economy in the region, which will drive traffic “and ultimately produce more toll revenue for the bridge.” The minister reiterated previous statements from Carney that Canada expects the U.S. will receive only a small amount of money in the early years of bridge operations. But Canada hasn’t given any dollar estimates.

Stephen Harper, the Canadian prime minister who signed the bridge agreement, said he was proud to see it finally open. “May it long continue Gordie Howe’s legacy of connecting our two great countries, fueling growth and opportunity for decades to come,” the former Canadian leader said in a post on X.