EDITOR’S NOTE: The previous headline of this article incorrectly suggested that Canada would not be hosting an event to celebrate the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge. The ceremony will take place in Canada, but will no longer be attended by US representatives as originally planned.
Canadian government officials will no longer celebrate the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge with U.S. representatives at a ribbon-cutting event this week, Ottawa said Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened hefty new tariffs on Canada.
“In light of the threatened trade actions by the United States earlier this week, it would be inappropriate to host a holiday event between the two countries,” a spokesman for Infrastructure Minister Gregor Robertson’s office said in an emailed statement.
The bridge is scheduled to open to traffic on July 27 under a new revenue-sharing agreement with the United States that came after Trump delayed the opening by more than a month.
Story continues below advertisement
A joint Canada-U.S. ribbon-cutting ceremony was scheduled for this Friday ahead of the opening.
Since the new agreement, Canadian and American officials have sought to portray the bridge’s opening as a symbol of strong ties between their countries despite economic and diplomatic tensions with the Trump administration.
“What I can tell you is that, in terms of the agreement, there appears to be no distance between us and the Canadian government,” U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra told Global News last week.
“We will have a ceremony on July 24th. I expect the people who made this agreement (to agree) that it will open on the 27th.”
Receive daily national news
Get Canada’s daily headlines delivered to your inbox so you never miss the day’s top stories.
However, Robertson’s office suggested Friday’s ceremony would instead be celebrated separately by Canadians and Americans after Trump signed executive orders Monday imposing 50 per cent tariffs on several Canadian products in 30 days.
Robertson will join other federal officials in the Canada-only ceremony.
“The Gordie Howe International Bridge remains a vital infrastructure project that reflects years of hard work and will become a major economic driver in the region, expanding opportunities for commuters, tourists, businesses and families,” Canada said in a statement.
“In turn, we remain committed to opening the bridge on July 27 and celebrating this milestone with Canadians on July 24.”
Story continues below advertisement
The statement noted that the agreements concluded with the United States on the bridge “remain unchanged.”
7:25
Gordie Howe Bridge: ‘No distance’ between Canada and US under profit-sharing agreement, says Hoekstra
The 15-year agreement to open the bridge connecting Windsor and Detroit is separate from an agreement Ottawa signed in 2012 under the Harper government, which committed Ottawa to shoulder the full $6.4 billion cost of building the bridge while sharing ownership with Michigan.
Under the plan, which was approved by Trump during his first term, the two sides would share toll revenues only after Canada’s construction debt, including interest, is paid off.
More about Canada More videos
The new agreement between the Carney and Trump governments will split toll revenues between Canada and a regional “economic development fund” for the first 15 years and give the U.S. a say on any toll changes that exceed 10 percent, a Canadian government source told Global News.
Story continues below advertisement
Neither country has published its terms, and confusion over the new agreement has grown over the past week.
Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters last week that only “net revenues” will be shared over those 15 years, and any toll revenues after that will only be distributed once Canada’s debt is paid off.
“These net revenues are after operating costs, which is toll booth staffing, maintenance, snow removal, a number of other operating costs,” Carney said.
Carney said his government expects that “after these costs, net revenues will be modest for the first few years. In fact, we expect them to be negative as traffic increases. So negative that they are modest in the first few years.”
“The basic agreement we made with Michigan remains the same, and therefore no toll sharing until all debt is paid off,” he later added.
But two senior Canadian government sources told Global News that the U.S. will indeed receive money collected during those first few years, noting that tolls will make up the vast majority of revenue generated.
Both sources indicated that bridge construction costs are expected to exceed revenues for at least the first six years, meaning neither side will receive any money during that period, but that schedule could fluctuate depending on the volume of traffic on the bridge.
Story continues below advertisement
Once the 15-year side deal is completed, the original financial terms of the 2012 agreement will revert to full effect, the Liberals say.
The Conservatives have called for the full terms of the new agreement to be made public and are considering using parliamentary tools to force them to be revealed.
— With files from Global’s Mackenzie Gray and The Canadian Press.
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.