WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says President Donald Trump has the right to amend a permit for a new bridge between Canada and Michigan, prolonging the latest dispute between the U.S. and its northern neighbor hours after the Canadian prime minister signaled 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 Tuesday that he spoke with Trump and expressed confidence that the spat would be resolved. But a White House official later Tuesday 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 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 on Tuesday. “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 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 Governor 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.
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 Representative 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.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford echoed Carney’s confidence that the bridge would open on schedule. He also questioned why Trump has reversed his position after signing earlier legislation that directed federal funds to the project.
“If President Trump didn't want this to go forward, why did he fast track it?” Ford said. “Until all of a sudden he changed his mind and said ‘it’s not good?’”
In 2017, Trump and then-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the bridge “a vital economic link between our two countries” in a joint statement.
Some Democratic U.S. lawmakers also expressed dismay over Trump’s new position. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI 6) said that when she first heard the president’s threat, she “thought it was a joke.” As for the White House’s demand that “the United States should own at least half the bridge,” she said that’s already a reality.
“Canada does not own both sides. The bridge — in this agreement, it's clearly spelled out — is publicly owned by the government of Canada and the state of Michigan,” Dingell said.
Dingell also pointed out that the reason Canada will get all toll revenues for a period of time is to recoup its costs for wholly financing the project.
That point was also made by former Michigan Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, who spearheaded the bridge effort on the U.S. side.
Snyder wrote in an op-ed in The Detroit News on Tuesday that 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. 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."
But some leading Republicans in Michigan said they supported the president's threat as a way to push Canada toward better terms in an upcoming trade deal. “President Trump has found the right leverage point to get Canada to the table," said state House Speaker Matt Hall.
"It’s going to be a little bumpy here," Hall said, "but ultimately President Trump will get a great deal."
