Trump is still holding the Gordie Howe Bridge hostage
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On Thursday, June 11, 2026, the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority announced that the Friday, June 12, 2026, dedication ceremony and opening of the Gordie Howe Bridge between Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario has been postponed.
No new date has been set.
Photo Credit: Windsor Star
Here is the headline from yesterday’s Crain’s Detroit Business, published Wednesday, June 10:
For those not familiar with this project, the Gordie Howe Bridge is a $4.6 billion infrastructure project connecting the United States and Canada via a massive bridge linking Michigan to Ontario that was all set to go until, well, Trump. Here’s what I wrote about the dilemma back in February:
You may have heard that Trump is suddenly determined to block the opening of a bridge that has now been completed between the US and Canada. The Gordie Howe Bridge, as it is named, has long been anticipated because, once it opens, it will greatly reduce the staggering amount of traffic currently shouldered by the Ambassador Bridge, located a few miles further up the Detroit River. Currently, the Ambassador Bridge is the busiest international border crossing in North America by trade volume. It serves as a critical economic link, handling over 25% of all merchandise trade between the U.S. and Canada, with goods valued at approximately $323 million crossing daily.
That bridge, the Ambassador Bridge, is privately owned by local billionaire Matthew Maroun and his family
Full stop. The Maroun family, who own the current Ambassador Bridge, are huge Trump supporters who have opposed this bridge since it was barely an idea. And that’s because a fully functional Gordie Howe Bridge means fewer billions in the bank for the Maroun family by diverting traffic from the Ambassador Bridge, which is not acceptable to the Marouns. And, since the Marouns donated millions to Trump, a fully functional Gordie Howe Bridge is therefore not acceptable to him either.
So now we have a bridge opening ceremony (maybe) for a bridge that will/might welcome traffic as soon as next Monday, June 15.
Maybe, possibly, hopefully. We’ll see. Here’s a really optimistic prediction from Ontario’s Premier Doug Ford, reported from Crain’s:
Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who was in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, suggested the bridge’s launch remains uncertain.
“Let’s see if it opens or not,” he said. “Hopefully it will, if they say it’s going to open. I’m just hearing two stories. But that’s all right. It’s all good.”
Yeah. It’s all good. Sure it is.
Meanwhile, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s office hasn’t been returning calls or answering the phone from reporters trying to get a solid answer. And yet the Governor is expected to be present at the festivities (???) on Friday.
Is the bridge a better deal – by a large margin – for both Canadians and Americans? Of course it is. And the Canadians even paid for the whole thing, agreeing to recoup their money through toll collection. Because, you know, Canadians trusted us to do the right thing and hold up our end like we always have based on how the Canadian/American alliance used to work once upon a time.
That alliance has run aground on the rocky shores of Right Now.
“Will the Canadians ever forgive us for Trump?” Considering how Michigan voted…