A new multi-billion-dollar U.S.-Canada bridge finally opened to trafic Monday after years of construction and soap operas. The project may alter the flow of international shipping between the two counties.
The Gordie Howe International Bridge, was built at a cost of C$6.4 billion ($4.5 billion). It’s the third crossing between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario. It joins a Detroit-Windsor tunnel (connecting the downtowns of the two cities) and the privately owned Ambassador Bridge, which has been the main commercial link in the region for decades
Automakers with U.S. operations have major connections with Canada. Auto companies have major Canadian investments stretching from Windsor to Toronto. Earlier this month, Unifor, which represents Canadian autoworkers, ratified a new three-year labor agreement with Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford Motor Co.
“This agreement is about investing in our people and Canada’s future,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said in a statement.
As part of the accord, Ford said it’s investing C$1.25 billion ($900 million) in its Canadian manufacturing operations.
The Gordie Howe bridge had been scheduled to open in June. There was delay because of U.S.-Canada trade tensions.
After U.S.-Canada negotiations, the bridge finally opened. Originally, Canada, which financed the bridge, was to collect all tolls until it recouped its investment.
The two sides reached an agreement “in principle” where Canada would pay 50% of “net bridge and crossing related revenues” for the first 15 years of bridge operations. Those payments will be made to a U.S.-Canada economic development fund, “established and solely controlled by the Government of the United States,” according to a statement.
Even to the end there was drama. A joint U.S.-Canada ceremony was scheduled for Monday. But the U.S. announced planned new tariffs on Canada. So Canada had its own opening ceremony last Friday. No U.S. officials participated.
Despite all that, the delayed opening has the potential to alter trade between the two countries.
The Ambassador Bridge has seen its dominance slip.
More than 60 miles north, the Blue Water Bridge, which connects Port Huron, Michigan, and Sarnia, Ontario, has exceeded Ambassador Bridge commercial truck traffic, according to the Canadian Press (via the website Coast Reporter), citing data from Canada’s Federal Bridge Corp.
The Blue Water Bridge had commercial traffic of 2.1 million vehicles in 2025, compared with 1.8 commercial trucks for the Ambassador Bridge.
The Blue Water Bridge charges tolls of up to C$7 per axle (about $5) for commercial trucks. The Ambassador Bridge, effective March 15, set tolls of $15 to $20 per axle.
The new Gordie Howe bridge has set standard commercial truck tolls of $8.75 per axle, according to the bridge’s website. That has the potential to siphon traffic from the Ambassador Bridge.
What’s more, the new bridge, named after a famed Detroit Red Wings hockey player, was built by Canada in part to make automotive trade between the two countries easier.
The Ambassador Bridge opened in 1929, according to the Detroit Historical Society.
Since the early 2000s, the Ambassador Bridge owners conflicted with Canada.
The Ambassador owners sought to construct a new bridge next to the existing structure. The idea: The new bridge would take over trade while the old bridge could be used for emergencies. Detroit International Bridge Co., which owns the Ambassador Bridge, purchased houses and land in Canada for the replacement bridge, the company said in 2008.
Canada objected.
The country sought a new structure jointly funded with the state of Michigan. Eventually, Canada moved to finance a new bridge by itself. Tolls charged at the new bridge will be used to help pay off costs. The Gordie Howe bridge is about a mile away from the Ambassador Bridge.
The Gordie Howe bridge will connect Interstate 75 in Michigan to an extension of Canada’s busy 401 highway.
Earlier this year, U.S. President Donald Trump said he had other ideas.
On Feb. 9, in a post on Trump’s Truth Social, the president said he would “not allow this bridge to open until the United States is fully compensated for everything we have given them,” referring to Canada.
The opening of the Gordie Howe bride is taking place during a U.S.-Canada trade war. Trump repeatedly has said the U.S. should annex Canada. The U.S. neighbor, an independent country since 1867, has resisted.
Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney have clashed repeatedly on trade matters. The U.S. president has objected to a trade deal Canada reached with China.
The New York Times reported earler this year that Matthew Moroun, whose family owns the Ambassador Bridge, met with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Ludnick shortly before Trump threatened to prevent the opening of Gordie Howe bridge.
