The long-anticipated opening of a $4.7 billion bridge linking Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, has been put on hold after the United States and Canada agreed to delay the launch just days before a planned ceremony.
A formal ribbon-cutting had been scheduled for today for the Gordie Howe International Bridge, according to invitations seen by Reuters.
“Canada and the United States have agreed to delay the opening of the bridge, taking the necessary time to resolve any outstanding issues,” the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority said.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the postponement came at the request of the Trump administration.
“We agreed to delay the opening and take the necessary time to resolve outstanding issues,” Mr Carney said at an event in Toronto, without detailing what those issues were.
Construction of the bridge, which began in 2018, was financed by Canada because the US refused to pay for it
He argued that the short delay would be worthwhile given the bridge’s expected lifespan and importance to cross-border traffic.
“For a bridge that is going to be in place and serve Canadians, Americans, others for decades, the question of a few weeks is time well spent,” he added.
Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens struck a defiant tone in a social media post, saying that while officials want the bridge operating, “Canada need not fall on bent knee to make it happen.”
Pete Hoekstra, the US ambassador to Canada, told The Detroit News that he and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick are leading discussions with Canada about opening the bridge.
Mr Lutnick’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The White House has not commented.
US President Donald Trump had earlier raised the prospect of blocking the crossing. In February, he cited Canada’s refusal to stock some US alcoholic beverages on Canadian store shelves, Canada’s tariffs on dairy products and its trade talks with China as grounds for why he might not allow the bridge to open.
That same month, Matthew Moroun, owner of the rival Ambassador Bridge that connects Detroit and Windsor, met with Mr Lutnick. Weeks earlier, he had donated $1 million to a Trump-aligned political action committee.
Mark Carney said Canada agreed to delay the opening at the request of the Trump administration
House Democrats have suggested that Mr Moroun used his influence to “jeopardise American commerce” to protect his company’s bottom line.
The Detroit International Bridge Company, which runs the Ambassador Bridge, did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
Construction of the bridge, which began in 2018, was financed by Canada because the US refused to pay for it. The costs will be covered by tolls over 30 years.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said at a Senate hearing last week that the department was “good to go” to staff the Gordie Howe bridge.
Once operational, the new bridge is expected to reduce pressure on the Ambassador Bridge by easing truck traffic into Detroit, the largest freight port on the US-Canada border, which handled $126 billion of value traded by commercial trucks as of 2023.
It will cut 20 minutes off the crossing time, saving truckers $2.3 billion over 30 years, according to a University of Windsor study.
The delay comes as Mr Trump has made a number of threats against Canada in his second term and drastically hiked tariffs on them.
This week, Mr Trump said he might not renew a free trade deal with Mexico and Canada.
