The opening of the new Canada–US bridge has been delayed as both countries work to resolve “outstanding issues,” according to the bridge authority. The delay affects the Gordie Howe Bridge linking Ontario and Michigan, which was previously criticised by President Donald Trump.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney had said the US$4.7 billion bridge would open this week, but the authority now says the two sides have agreed to take more time before the opening. Trump had earlier threatened to block the bridge, arguing that the U.S. should have greater ownership because of its role in the project.
As we work towards an opening date, we are taking a collaborative approach.”
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on June 9 that the US$4.7 billion (S$6 billion) Gordie Howe Bridge that links the Canadian province of Ontario with the US state of Michigan would open this week.
In February, Trump threatened to block the bridge, insisting that the US had been treated unfairly in its construction and that it should be “at least half” US-owned.
According to a factsheet issued by the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority, the bridge was financed entirely by Canada and will be jointly owned by the governments of Canada and the state of Michigan.
The nature of Trump’s anger about the bridge is not entirely clear, but he first raised it shortly after Carney’s widely praised January speech at the World Economic Forum, an address broadly seen as a denunciation of Trump.
Carney had also just sealed a preliminary trade deal with China, prompting massive new tariff threats from Washington