TORONTO (AP) 鈥� A across the Detroit River that U.S. President threatened to block will open at the end of the week, Canadian Prime Minister said Tuesday.
In February, Trump demanded that Canada turn over at least of the bridge and agree to other unspecified demands in one of his many salvos over .
The Gordie Howe International Bridge, which would connect Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit in the U.S. state of Michigan, and would be a vital economic artery between Canada and the United States, had been expected to open early this year, according to information on the project鈥檚 website.
The bridge is named after Howe, the late Canadian hockey great who spent 25 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings.
The project was negotiated by former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder 鈥� a Republican 鈥� and paid for by the Canadian government to help ease congestion over the existing Ambassador Bridge and Detroit-Windsor tunnel. Work has been underway since 2018.
鈥淥bviously the bridge will be open at the end of the week. A symbol of, but also a fact of cooperation between our countries,鈥� Carney told reporters as he walked into Parliament.
鈥淕reat for Canadians going across the border, Americans coming across the border, and for commerce,鈥� he said, calling it 鈥減ositive news.鈥�
Trump threatened the bridge as the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement is up for review this year, and Trump has been taking a hard-line position before those talks, including by issuing .
Carney, meanwhile, has spoken out against economic coercion by the United States.
Sen. Elissa Slotkin, a Michigan Democrat, has said that the Canadian-funded project is a 鈥渉uge boon鈥� to her state and its economic future.
Michigan is a swing state that Trump carried in both 2016 and 2024.
Snyder wrote in an op-ed in The Detroit News earlier this year that Trump was wrong in asserting that Canada owns both the U.S. and Canadian sides of the Gordie Howe bridge.
鈥淐anada and the state of Michigan are 50/50 owners of the new bridge,鈥� Snyder wrote. 鈥淐anada 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.鈥�
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