Donald Trump has threatened to block the long-awaited opening of a new $4.7bn (£3.4bn) bridge connecting the US and Canada.
The Gordie Howe International Bridge, which is supposed to be ready to open in spring, connects Detroit in the US state of Michigan to Windsor in the Canadian province of Ontario.
The US Department of Homeland Security has estimated it will save $12.7m (£9.3m) annually for travellers by reducing congestion and travel time, easing traffic flows on alternative routes such as the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel and Ambassador Bridge.
It will also be the only route with the option of walking or cycling between the two countries, as well as offering six lanes for vehicles – compared to the Ambassador Bridge’s four – and fewer traffic light stops.
So why is the US president threatening to delay its opening?
Trump’s rant over bridge opening
Mr Trump launched into a rant over the bridge on his Truth Social platform on Monday, in a post claiming Canada had treated the US “unfairly for decades”.
Some of his frustrations were about the bridge itself, while others were over broader tensions between the countries, largely ramped up by his tariffs.
The outburst came despite the fact Mr Trump endorsed the bridge during his first term in 2017 alongside then Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau.
Wants to own ‘at least one half’ of the bridge
In his post, Mr Trump said the US would be getting “absolutely NOTHING” from the bridge.
He added: “I will not allow this bridge to open until the United States is fully compensated for everything we have given them, and also, importantly, Canada treats the United States with the Fairness and Respect that we deserve.
“We will start negotiations, IMMEDIATELY. With all that we have given them, we should own, perhaps, at least one half of this asset.”
Photo of the bridge under construction in October 2023. File pic: AP
Mr Trump has not made clear how he would seek to block the bridge from opening. Sky News has contacted the White House for comment.
The bridge was financed predominantly by Canada after Michigan’s former governor Rick Snyder – a Republican – accepted an offer from the Canadian government in 2012 to cover most of the costs.
He took the unusual step of using executive authority to bypass the legislature.
The Canadian government is set to recoup its investment in the bridge through toll revenue, and will receive ongoing capital and availability payments to operate, maintain and rehabilitate the project for the next 36 years.
Mr Trump also took issue with the fact the bridge, named after a Canadian hockey star who played for the Detroit Red Wings for 25 seasons, was not built using US steel.
It was built by union construction workers from both countries, according to local officials.
Why else would Trump want to block it?
The US president’s bridge threats come during heightened tensions between him and Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney, largely over trade.
Mr Trump has made a number of threats against Canada in his second term and drastically hiked tariffs on the country, prompting China to swoop in and negotiate a trade deal with the Canadian government.
Mark Carney speaking by the bridge in February last year. Pic: Reuters
Mr Trump referenced this in his lengthy Truth Social post about the bridge, claiming China would “eat Canada alive” and that the US would “just get the leftovers”.
The US president previously threatened to impose a 100% tariff on Canada if it followed through with the deal.
He also referenced his longstanding frustrations with Canada’s policies on dairy product imports and Ontario’s enforcement of a sweeping ban on American alcoholic beverages.
The bridge threat also comes shortly before a formal review of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the trade deal that protects Canada from the heaviest impacts of Mr Trump’s tariffs.
Bridge ‘going to open one way or another’
Michigan, a swing state which Mr Trump won over in both 2016 and 2024, would feel the brunt of a delay to the bridge’s opening, local politicians say.
Michigan’s Democratic governor Gretchen Whitmer has maintained an unusually good relationship with Mr Trump since his second term began, but her spokesperson Stacey LaRouche said the bridge was “going to open one way or another, and the governor looks forward to attending the ribbon-cutting”.
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Senator Elissa Slotkin, a Michigan Democrat, has called the bridge a “huge boon” to her state and its economic future, and warned: “Cancelling this project will have serious repercussions. Higher costs for Michigan businesses, less secure supply chains, and ultimately, fewer jobs.
“So to shoot yourself in the foot and threaten the Gordie Howe Bridge means that this guy [Trump] has completely lost the plot on what’s good for us versus just what’s spite against the Canadians.”
She added Mr Trump is “punishing Michiganders for a trade war he started”.
“The only reason Canada is on the verge of a trade deal with China is because President Trump has kicked them in the teeth for a year,” she said.
Rep Shri Thanedar, the Democratic House representative of Detroit, said blocking the bridge would be “crazy” and Mr Trump’s attacks on Canada weren’t good for business or jobs.
She added: “The bridge is going to help Michigan’s economy. There’s so much commerce between Michigan and Canada. They’re one of our biggest partners.”
Sky News has contacted the Ontario premier’s office and the Detroit mayor’s office for comment.