The White House says US President Donald Trump has the right to amend a permit for a new bridge between Canada and Michigan, prolonging the latest dispute between the US and its northern neighbour hours after its prime minister signalled there could be a detente.
The Gordie Howe International Bridge, which would connect Ontario and Michigan and would be a vital economic artery between the two countries, is scheduled to open in early 2026. But Trump has now threatened to block the bridge from being opened, calling for Canada to agree to a litany of unspecified demands as the two nations prepare to renegotiate a sprawling trade pact later this year.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said earlier Wednesday that he spoke with Trump and expressed confidence that the spat would be resolved. But a White House official later Wednesday said the ownership structure of the bridge remains unacceptable for the US president.
Canada paid for the bridge, named after a Canadian-born Detroit Red Wings hockey star. Construction has been underway since 2018.
The official said that all international infrastructure projects require a presidential permit, and that Trump would be within his right to amend that permit. The person was granted anonymity because they did not have permission to speak publicly.
"The fact that Canada will control what crosses the Gordie Howe Bridge and owns the land on both sides is unacceptable to the president," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. “It’s also unacceptable that more of this bridge isn’t being built with more American-made materials.”
The new fight over the bridge is the latest volley in an increasingly sour relationship between the United States and Canada, particularly over trade policy. Trump has also mused publicly about acquiring Canada as the 51st US state, much to the dismay of Canadians.
Following his conversation with Trump, Carney said “this is going to be resolved” and noted that he told the US president that the Canadian and Michigan governments shared ownership of the bridge. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s office has also emphasised that the bridge will be operated under a joint ownership agreement between the state and Canada, even though the Canadian government paid for it.
Carney also added that US steel was used in the project, which also employed US workers. According to Carney, Trump told him he’ll ask the US ambassador to Canada, former Michigan Rep. Pete Hoekstra, to “play a role in smoothing the conversation in and around the bridge.”
Hoekstra did not return an immediate request for comment.
"I look forward to it opening and what is particularly important is the commerce and the tourism of Canadians and Americans that go across that bridge," Carney said.
The project was negotiated by former Michigan Republican Gov. Rick Snyder and paid for by the Canadian government to help ease congestion over the existing Ambassador Bridge and Detroit-Windsor tunnel.
Snyder wrote in an op-ed in The Detroit News on Tuesday that Trump was wrong in asserting that Canada owns both the US- and Canadian sides of the Gordie Howe bridge.
“Canada and the state of Michigan are 50/50 owners of the new bridge," Snyder wrote. "Canada was wonderful and financed the entire bridge. They will get repaid with interest from the tolls. Michigan and the United States got their half-ownership with no investment."
The former governor also emphasised that parts of the bridge construction were exempt from "Buy America" requirements for its steel because half of the project was outside the US and subsequently, US law should not apply to them.
"President Trump, I would encourage you to challenge your advisers and the sources for your post to correct the information they have provided," Snyder wrote in the op-ed. He acknowledged some trade issues with Canada, but “picking this bridge as the leverage point doesn’t seem to make the most sense given your other tools".
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