President Donald Trump tore into Canada again on Monday, threatening to prevent the opening of a bridge connecting Ontario to Michigan — a project finally nearing completion after almost eight years of construction.
Trump blasted Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney for holding trade talks with China as Canada continues to levy tariffs on U.S. products. The president said that Canada must treat “the United States with the Fairness and Respect that we deserve,” and until that happens, he will not allow the bridge to open.
“The Tariffs Canada charges us for our Dairy products have, for many years, been unacceptable, putting our Farmers at great financial risk. 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 on Truth Social. “We will start negotiations, IMMEDIATELY.”
The bridge, which is named after Detroit Red Wings hockey legend Gordie Howe, would connect Windsor, Ontario, to the Motor City. The Canadian government paid for its construction and would jointly own the bridge with the state of Michigan, The Detroit News reported.
The Gordie Howe International Bridge is slated to open sometime this year, but Trump’s threat could throw a wrench in those plans. While the bridge would be partly owned by Michigan, Trump could prevent the bridge from being operational by declining to staff the port of entry with U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, however, promised Michigan’s Democratic senators last year that the crossing would be staffed.
Trump complained that Canada constructed the bridge “with virtually no U.S. content,” adding, “They own both the Canada and the United States side.” Trump also criticized former President Barack Obama for “stupidly” granting Canada a waiver “so they could get around the BUY AMERICAN Act, and not use any American products, including our Steel.”
Michigan Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who met with Trump in the Oval Office last year, wasn’t concerned with the bridge’s grand opening being pushed back because of Trump’s comments.
“It’s going to open one way or another, and the governor looks forward to attending the ribbon cutting,” a Whitmer spokeswoman said on Monday. The spokeswoman said the Gordie Howe Bridge is “a tremendous example of bipartisan and international cooperation.”
The bridge would allow people to cross the border by bike, on foot, or in a vehicle. There are currently two ways for vehicles to cross from Detroit into Windsor, or vice versa: through the Windsor Tunnel, which runs under the Detroit River, or across the Ambassador Bridge, a 96-year-old suspension bridge. The Gordie Howe International Bridge would help with traffic congestion at the U.S.-Canada border crossing while also providing a more direct connection between I-75 and Ontario’s Highway 401.
Last month, Canada and China reached a preliminary agreement on trade that would lower some tariffs, including on Chinese electric vehicles shipped to Canada. After Prime Minister Carney and Chinese President Xi Jinping held trade talks, Trump threatened to increase U.S. tariffs on Canadian products to 100% if the two countries reached a deal. Trump also warned Carney against allowing China to use Canada as a “drop off port” to send its goods into the United States.
“China will eat Canada alive, completely devour it, including the destruction of their businesses, social fabric, and general way of life,” the president said. “If Canada makes a deal with China, it will immediately be hit with a 100% Tariff against all Canadian goods and products coming into the U.S.A.”
On Monday, Trump warned that if Canada agrees to a deal with China, “The first thing China will do is terminate ALL Ice Hockey being played in Canada, and permanently eliminate The Stanley Cup.”
