Trump threatens to block opening of new Detroit–Canada bridge

President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to block the opening of a new Canadian-built bridge across the Detroit River, demanding that Canada hand over at least half ownership of the project and agree to other unspecified conditions, escalating tensions over cross-border trade.

“We will start negotiations, IMMEDIATELY. With all that we have given them, we should own, perhaps, at least one half of this asset,” Trump wrote in a lengthy social media post. He complained that the United States would gain nothing from the bridge and alleged that Canada failed to use US-made steel in its construction.

The Gordie Howe International Bridge — named after the late Canadian hockey legend who played 25 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings — is expected to open in early 2026, according to the project’s website. Negotiated under former Michigan governor Rick Snyder, a Republican, the project has been fully funded by the Canadian government to ease congestion at the Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit–Windsor tunnel. Construction has been underway since 2018.

It remains unclear how Trump could legally block the bridge’s opening. The White House did not immediately respond to requests for clarification, and the Canadian Embassy in Washington also declined to comment.

Trump’s remarks come amid worsening US–Canada relations during his second term. The United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) is due for review this year, with Trump adopting a hard-line stance ahead of negotiations, including fresh tariff threats. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has publicly criticised what he has described as economic coercion by Washington.

Michigan lawmakers from both parties pushed back strongly against the president’s comments. Senator Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat, called the bridge a “huge boon” for Michigan’s economy. “You’ll be able to move cargo from Montreal to Miami without ever stopping at a street light,” she told The Associated Press. Threatening the project, she added, amounted to “shooting yourself in the foot.”

Despite being a key swing state that Trump carried in both 2016 and 2024, Michigan has largely avoided the sharpest edges of his second-term policies, which have included aggressive immigration enforcement and cuts to infrastructure funding in Democratic-led states. Trump has also maintained an unusually cordial relationship with Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer, publicly praising her during an Oval Office appearance last year.

Although Canada financed the bridge, it will operate under a joint ownership agreement between Michigan and Canada, Whitmer’s press secretary Stacey LaRouche said. Calling it the busiest trade crossing in North America, she said the project was vital for Michigan workers and the auto industry. “It’s going to open one way or another,” she said.

Detroit Congressman Shri Thanedar described the idea of blocking the bridge as “crazy,” warning it would harm jobs and commerce. Representative Debbie Dingell of Ann Arbor echoed that view, dismissing Trump’s threat and reaffirming that the bridge would open as planned. “It’s jobs. It’s protecting our economy. It was built with union labour on both sides,” she said. “Canada is our ally.”