US President Donald Trump has said he will not allow the opening of a new international road bridge connecting the United States and Canada until Ottawa treats the United States with “fairness and respect” and pays “full compensation.”
The Gordie Howe International Bridge, named after hockey player Gordie Howe, is to connect the Canadian province of Ontario with the US state of Michigan. Trump wrote on his Truth Social media account: “I will not allow this bridge to open until the United States receives full compensation for everything we have given them, and until Canada begins to treat the United States with the fairness and respect we deserve.”
Trump did not specify what mechanisms he could use to prevent the bridge from opening, but noted that “negotiations will begin immediately.”
Canadian media estimated the cost of the bridge to be 6.4 billion Canadian dollars (about 4.7 billion US dollars). It was scheduled to open in early 2026, after official testing and necessary approvals. Construction began in 2018, and the project has been the subject of disagreement between the two countries for more than a decade.
