President Donald Trump rethinking Canada bridge permit amid Michigan jeers, cheers

President Trump has the right to amend a permit for Michigan-Canada bridge, White House official says
The Gordie Howe International Bridge is near completion, and officials say it is an important economic asset
Former Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican, says a bridge stoppage ‘would primarily hurt Americans’

The White House contends President Donald Trump has the right to amend a permit for a new bridge between Canada and Michigan, a potential new wrinkle in an escalating dispute between the U.S. and its northern neighbor.

The Gordie Howe International Bridge, which would connect Detroit to Windsor and would be a vital economic artery between the two countries, is scheduled to open in early 2026.

But Trump on Monday threatened to block the opening, 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.

Citing concerns with tariffs on US dairy products, boycotts on US-made liquor and Canadian trade talks with China, Trump warned he would not allow the bridge to open “until the United States is fully compensated for everything we have given (Canada).”

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Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said early Tuesday that he spoke with Trump and expressed confidence that the spat would be resolved. But a White House official later said the ownership structure of the bridge remains unacceptable for the U.S. president.

Canada paid for the bridge, named after a Canadian-born Detroit Red Wings hockey star. Construction has been underway since 2018.

The White House official told the Associated Press that all international infrastructure projects require a presidential permit, and that Trump would be within his right to amend that permit.

“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 on Tuesday. “It’s also unacceptable that more of this bridge isn’t being built with more American-made materials.”

Later Tuesday, several Michigan Democrats and former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican who played a key role in negotiating the project, refuted Trump claims that the bridge deal was unfair to the US and warned a delayed opening could hurt US business interests and trade relationships.

“The bridge stoppage approach would primarily harm Americans,” Snyder Snyder wrote in an op-ed published in The Detroit News, where he called several Trump comments about the project “incorrect.”

Trump appears to be unaware of the wide-ranging implications of blocking the scheduled opening of the new international border crossing, US Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Ann Arbor, said in a press call.

“We should not be playing political games on a project that’s been a decade in the making for helping our industries and helping our jobs,” Dingell said. “Canada is a good friend and ally…there are a whole lot of us in Michigan that know Canada is our friend, and we’ll fight to defend that relationship.”

But several prominent Michigan Republicans — including state House Speaker Matt Hall, US Senate candidate Mike Rogers and US Rep. John James, who is seeking the Republican nomination for governor — backed what Trump called an effort to ensure “Canada treats the United States with the Fairness and Respect that we deserve.”

“Trade is still happening, the bridge isn’t open yet and…the president is trying to get the best deal for American workers,” Rogers said Tuesday in an unrelated press conference, later adding, “I think we’re going to get a good deal at the end of the day.”

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 U.S. 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 U.S. president that the Canadian and Michigan governments shared ownership of the bridge.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s office has also emphasized that the bridge will be operated under a joint ownership agreement between the state and Canada, even though the Canadian government paid for it.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday morning, Whitmer said she hadn’t yet spoken with the president on the matter, but stressed the bridge is “a really important part of our economy, the largest crossing in North America, and so it is important that it continues to move forward and open up on time.”

Carney also added that U.S. steel was used in the project, which also employed U.S. workers. According to Carney, Trump told him he’ll ask the U.S. 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 Snyder and paid for by the Canadian government to help ease congestion over the existing Ambassador Bridge and Detroit-Windsor tunnel.

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.”

In the Detroit News op-ed, Snyder said Trump was wrong in asserting that Canada owns both the U.S.- 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 emphasized that parts of the bridge construction were exempt from “Buy America” requirements for its steel because half of the project was outside the U.S. and subsequently, U.S. 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.