Trump delays opening of Canada-U.S. Gordie Howe bridge

The opening of the $6.4 billion Gordie Howe International Bridge was delayed at the request of the United States, putting a key Windsor-Detroit crossing at the center of a fight over one of North America’s busiest commercial border routes. Prime Minister Mark Carney said there were still a few issues to resolve before the span could open.

The bridge links Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, Michigan, with a direct connection from Highway 401 to Interstate 75 over the Detroit River. Canadian government sources describe it as part of the busiest commercial land border crossing between Canada and the United States, and the new span is meant to ease pressure on the Ambassador Bridge, which has long carried a large share of cross-border commercial traffic.

For months, Canadian officials had been preparing for a fall 2025 opening while testing and commissioning continued on the project. Carney said he spoke with Donald Trump after the president threatened to block the opening, and said Canada had paid for the bridge in full. He also said Americans already had an ownership stake. The planned ribbon-cutting was postponed as the dispute widened.

The White House linked the issue to longstanding unfair trade practices, adding a political layer to a project built to improve the efficiency, safety and security of cross-border movement. That uncertainty matters most in the auto corridor, where assembly plants and parts suppliers on both sides of the border rely on fast movement through the Detroit-Windsor gateway. A delayed opening would keep more freight on the existing crossing for longer, preserving congestion risk at a stretch of the border that handles enormous volumes of commercial traffic.

The bridge has also been sold as a jobs engine. Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada said construction directly created thousands of jobs in Ontario and Michigan, with local suppliers and contractors benefiting across the region. The Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority, a Crown corporation, was assigned to deliver and oversee the project, which Canadian sources say was planned as a major trade and travel link for decades of use.