US President Donald Trump has threatened to block the opening of a new bridge connecting the United States and Canada until Washington is "fully compensated" for everything it has done to its northern neighbor.
The Gordie Howe International Bridge, which connects the Canadian province of Ontario with the US state of Michigan, will not open until Ottawa begins "treating the United States fairly and with the respect we deserve," Trump wrote on social media, the BBC reports.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said the United States should own "at least half of this property." He also noted that Canada owns both the Canadian and American sides of the bridge. According to the project's official website, the organization developing the bridge, the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority, is wholly owned by the Canadian government.
"The Canadian government expects me, as President of the United States, to let them simply 'take advantage of America!'" Trump wrote. "I will not allow this bridge to open until the United States is fully compensated for everything we have given them," he added.
It has not yet been clarified how Trump could prevent the bridge from opening, but he announced that negotiations would begin immediately, without providing details, index.hr reports.
The bridge, which spans the Detroit River, is scheduled to open to traffic in early 2026, after formal testing and approval. Construction began in 2018, but the project has been the subject of a dispute between the two countries for more than a decade. According to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the estimated cost of construction is C$6,4 billion. Although the project is being funded by the Canadian government, the bridge will be publicly owned by both Canada and the state of Michigan.
The Moroun family, the American owners of the neighboring Ambassador Bridge, which also connects Detroit to Canada, urged Trump during his first term to stop construction of the new bridge, arguing that it would infringe on their monopoly on toll collection. Trump then issued a joint statement with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau calling the bridge a "vital economic link" between the two countries.
Trump also recalled recent trade disputes yesterday, stating that "the tariffs that Canada has been charging us on dairy products for years are unacceptable." He also referred to the trade agreement signed by Canada and China last month, claiming that it would "eat Canada alive."
"The first thing China will do is stop all ice hockey being played in Canada and permanently cancel the Stanley Cup," Trump added. The Canadian Bridge Authority, the Ontario premier's office and the Detroit mayor's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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