Opening of Canada-US bridge delayed after last-minute US request
Key takeaways
- The Gordie Howe Bridge is shown under construction between Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, May 22, 2026.
- According to a fact sheet 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.
- Carney had also just sealed a preliminary trade deal with China, prompting massive new tariff threats from the United States.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
The Gordie Howe Bridge is shown under construction between Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, May 22, 2026. PAUL SANCYA / AP PHOTO/PAUL SANCYA The opening of a new bridge connecting Canada and the United States that President Donald Trump previously criticized has been delayed at the last minute over "unresolved issues," officials said Thursday, June 11. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who said on Tuesday that the $4.7-billion Gordie Howe Bridge would open this week, told reporters that the ceremony had been delayed "at the request of the United States."
He said the two governments were going "to work through some issues that have come up," without specifying, but that it would only be a "question of a few weeks." "There is no great drama here," he said, dismissing speculation that tensions with US President Donald Trump had played a role.
In February, Trump threatened to fully block the bridge -- which connects the province of Ontario with the northern US state of Michigan -- insisting that the United States had been treated unfairly in its construction and that it should be "at least half" US-owned. According to a fact sheet 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.