Trump threatens to block opening of new bridge between Windsor and Detroit

U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening to block the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge, poised to become the newest border crossing between Windsor, Ont., and Detroit.

“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 wrote in the post on Monday.

CBC News has asked the White House for further clarification, but did not receive a response Monday night.

Trump made the threat amid a 299-word post in which he said Canada has treated the U.S. “very unfairly for decades,” complained that the bridge was built “with virtually no U.S. content” and repeated his criticism of Prime Minister Mark Carney “wanting to make a trade deal with China.”

“With all that we have given them, we should own, perhaps, at least one half of this asset,” he wrote.

The $6.4 billion cost of the Gordie Howe bridge has been entirely funded by Canada’s federal government, but the bridge is under the public joint ownership of Canada and the state of Michigan.

Construction on the six-lane crossing first began in 2018.

Major construction is now complete, according to the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority, the Crown corporation overseeing the project, which is being built through a public-private partnership. Final testing and inspections remain, with the opening expected for sometime early this year.

The Gordie Howe Bridge has been the focus of a decade-long legal battle between the American owners of the existing Ambassador Bridge and the federal government.

Trump endorsed new bridge in 2017

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.”

Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens says parts of Trump’s post are factually incorrect, as U.S. steel was used in the construction from the Michigan side of the river.

“It’s just insane,” Dilkens told CBC Power & Politics host David Cochrane on Monday evening.

“I really can’t believe what I’m reading,” Dilkens said. “The faster we can get to the midterms and hopefully see a change, the better for all of us.”

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Witmer is defending the bridge and says it was built by unionized construction workers from both sides of the border.

“The Gordie Howe International Bridge is all about jobs. It’s good for Michigan workers and it’s good for Michigan’s auto industry,” Whitmer’s press secretary Stacey LaRouche said in an email to CBC News.

“This project has been a tremendous example of bipartisan and international cooperation. It’s going to open one way or another, and the governor looks forward to attending the ribbon cutting,” LaRouche said.

‘Awful for our state’s economy’

U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat from Michigan, says Trump is punishing the people of her state with his threat to block the bridge.

“President Trump’s threat tonight to tank it is awful for our state’s economy. Canceling this project will have serious repercussions,” Slotkin wrote on social media.

“The only reason Canada is on the verge of a trade deal with China is because President Trump has kicked them in the teeth for a year,” she wrote. “Canada is our friend — not our enemy.”

WATCH | How the mayor of Windsor reacted to Trump’s threat to stall bridge:

Windsor mayor says Trump’s threat over bridge to his city ‘just insane’ | Power & Politics

Power & Politics speaks to the mayor of Windsor, Ont., after U.S. President Donald Trump threatens to block the opening of a new bridge between Ontario and Michigan.

This is just the latest example of the U.S. president’s sabre-rattling toward Canada amid the looming renegotiations of the three-nation free trade agreement with Mexico, known as CUSMA.

After imposing a range of tariffs on Canadian exports in 2025, Trump has in recent months issued three specific threats of further economic consequences on Canada, all posted on social media, but is yet to follow through on any of them: 

While Trump has not actually taken action on those posts, he does appear to have the authority to block the opening of the bridge with the stroke of a pen.

This executive order lays out presidential powers to issue permits for land transportation crossings at the U.S. border.

The presidential permit authorizing construction and operation of a new bridge linking Detroit with Windsor was issued in 2013, but as with any executive order, can be revoked by the president.

The new bridge is named for the Saskatchewan-born hockey legend who played 25 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings.

According to an economic impact assessment commissioned by the bridge authority, the crossing will make border crossing times for commercial vehicles both shorter and more predictable and save trucks about 850,000 hours per year.