Updated Feb. 9, 2026, 7:21 p.m. ET
Lansing — President Donald Trump threatened Monday evening to prevent the new Gordie Howe International Bridge between Detroit and Windsor from opening until Canada treats the United States with, what he described as, “fairness and respect.”
The Republican president issued the statement about the $5.7 billion Canadian-financed project, which has been under construction since 2018, on the social media platform Truth Social. The bridge project was once touted by Republican former Gov. Rick Snyder as an “enduring symbol of two nations” partnership.
However, in the new post, Trump complained that Ontario won’t allow U.S. alcoholic products on its shelves, that Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, was attempting to work with China and about Canadian tariffs on U.S. dairy products.
“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. “We will start negotiations, IMMEDIATELY.”
“With all that we have given them, we should own, perhaps, at least one half of this asset. The revenues generated because of the U.S. Market will be astronomical.”
The new bridge has been expected to open at some point this year.
It will be jointly owned by Canada and the state of Michigan, with Canada providing financing for the project, according to the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority. Michigan lawmakers declined to contribute to the cost more than a decade ago during Snyder’s first term in office.
The bridge spans the Detroit River, connecting southwest Detroit to northwest Windsor, Ontario. At 150 feet above the Detroit River and 720 feet high, the Gordie Howe will be the largest Canadian and U.S. land port along the border. An estimated 6,000 people are expected to commute to Detroit from Ontario each day by the bridge.
Once open to commercial trucks and passenger vehicles, the publicly owned span will compete with the privately owned Ambassador Bridge, providing direct access in the U.S. to I-75 and Interstate 96 in Detroit, and in Canada to Ontario Highway 401.
One way that Trump could keep the bridge from functioning is to block staffing of the U.S.-side customs plaza that the U.S. government agreed to contribute years ago.
Both Michigan senators a year ago pressed Trump’s Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during her confirmation hearing in the Senate for assurances on staffing customs and inspections at the new bridge. Noem committed to staffing the plaza on the northern border.
“With the bridge as well, and staffing up on that … I’ve assured Senator (Elissa) Slotkin as well that our focus is there to make sure that it is staffed appropriately,” Noem told Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township.
‘Serious repercussions’
In a statement Monday evening, Slotkin said Trump’s threat to “tank” the bridge is “awful” for the state’s economy.“Canceling this project will have serious repercussions. Higher costs for Michigan businesses, less secure supply chains, and ultimately, fewer jobs,” Slotkin said in a statement Monday evening. “With this threat, the president is punishing Michiganders for a trade war he started. The only reason Canada is on the verge of a trade deal with China is because President Trump has kicked them in the teeth for a year.”Slotkin said Trump’s agenda for personal retribution “should not come before what’s best for us. Canada is our friend —not our enemy.”
“And I will do everything in my power to get this critical project back on track,” she added.
Millions of dollars in federal funding have gone into preparing the U.S. plaza in southwest Detroit, which was planned to be large enough to fit more than 100 football fields.
At the 2018 groundbreaking, Snyder, who left office at the end of 2018, said the bridge would be “a thriving legacy named for a legend,” referring to the former Detroit Red Wing hockey great. Howe represented the best of Canada and the United States, Snyder said.
“Every Michigander should thank every Canadian,” Snyder said in 2018.
At the time, the Republican-led Michigan Legislature refused to fund half of the project. Snyder helped forge a deal in which Canada paid to build the bridge, and the U.S. customs plaza, and expects to recoup its investment through vehicle tolls.
A representative of the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority could not be reached immediately Monday evening for comment.
Trump’s threat to block the new Detroit-to-Windsor bridge from opening came a day before a delegation of Michigan Republican state lawmakers was expected to visit with members of the Trump administration in Washington, D.C.
In a social media post over the weekend, state Rep. Brad Paquette, R-Niles, said members of the House Republican caucus were scheduled to meet with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
A spokesman for House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, did not immediately return a message seeking comment regarding Trump’s threat.
cmauger@detroitnews.com
mburke@detroitnews.com
Staff Writers Beth LeBlanc and Louis Aguilar contributed.
