{"id":141608,"date":"2026-07-23T23:00:07","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T23:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/141608\/"},"modified":"2026-07-23T23:00:07","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T23:00:07","slug":"will-canadian-taxpayers-be-repaid-for-the-gordie-howe-international-bridge-dont-hold-your-breath","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/141608\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Canadian taxpayers be repaid for the Gordie Howe International Bridge? Don\u2019t hold your breath"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

The Gordie Howe Bridge under construction on May 22. The economics of the $6.4-billion project, entirely funded by Canada, began crumbling long before Trump put the squeeze on Ottawa, writes Rita Trichur.Paul Sancya\/The Associated Press<\/p>\n

The Gordie Howe International Bridge risks becoming a financial sinkhole for Canadian taxpayers.<\/p>\n

Although the current uproar over Canada\u2019s side deal with the United States<\/a> is renewing public focus on the bridge\u2019s finances, the fiscal hazards of the 2.5-kilometre span connecting Windsor and Detroit involve more than just that pact. <\/p>\n

Indeed, the economics of the $6.4-billion project, entirely funded by Canada, began crumbling long before U.S. President Donald Trump put the squeeze on Ottawa to fork over half of the bridge\u2019s net revenues for its first 15 years of operation.<\/p>\n

Details in the fine print of public documents suggest that Canadian taxpayers may not recoup their investment in the border crossing \u2013 at least not in a reasonable period of time.<\/p>\n

Gordie Howe bridge deal appears to contradict Carney\u2019s description of pact with U.S.<\/a><\/p>\n

Neither the responsible federal department nor the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority, or WDBA, the Crown corporation in charge of the project, have answered The Globe and Mail\u2019s queries. <\/p>\n

But, hey, opacity is the Canadian way. <\/p>\n

Obviously, infrastructure investments, such as bridges and roads, are not corporate ventures. They serve larger social and economic purposes and aren\u2019t generally built to turn a profit. <\/p>\n

The primary purpose of the Gordie Howe bridge is to facilitate more cross-border trade and economic growth for decades. And it will do just that once it finally opens to traffic on Monday, despite Mr. Trump\u2019s shenanigans.<\/p>\n

So, if you\u2019re wondering why taxpayers should expect to be repaid for this particular piece of infrastructure, it\u2019s because Ottawa has promised Canadians that they will get their money back.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Gordie Howe International Bridge will operate under a user-pay model to ensure the long-term sustainability of the crossing, including recovery of Canada\u2019s investment and funding ongoing operations and maintenance,\u201d Caleb Spassov, a spokesman for Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada<\/a>, told The Globe in December. <\/p>\n

What to know so far about the Gordie Howe bridge deal<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThis framework is central to ensuring that the bridge operates efficiently without increased costs to Canadian taxpayers.\u201d <\/p>\n

The government declined to say this week if it stands by that statement.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a problem because Ottawa has framed this bridge as a recoverable investment. What\u2019s more, public disclosures about the project raise questions about whether government outlays will be recouped down the road.<\/p>\n

As previously stated, the Canadian government was the bridge\u2019s sole funder, and the WDBA plans to reimburse Ottawa through future toll revenues. <\/p>\n

The project debt that must be repaid to the government \u2013 in other words, the Canadian public \u2013 was more than $6.3-billion on March 31, 2025, according to the WDBA\u2019s annual report<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Of course, the document uses jargon to make this disclosure, describing it as \u201ctotal unrecouped Canadian contributions.\u201d<\/p>\n

The interest on this debt, the \u201cimputed cost of unrecouped Canadian contributions,\u201d was nearly $272-million in 2025 alone, according to the report. <\/p>\n

Interest accrues annually at a rate equal to the Government of Canada benchmark long-term bond yield on the last business day of the previous fiscal year-end, plus 100 basis points. That suggests that the interest rate was 4.34 per cent for 2025. <\/p>\n

For people in Detroit and Windsor, Gordie Howe bridge delay fits a familiar \u2013 and frustrating \u2013 pattern<\/a><\/p>\n

But the interest of nearly $272-million recorded in 2025 appears to be an accounting entry rather than a cash payment. There\u2019s no impatient private lender to the WDBA; instead, the federal government has let the interest obligations pile up to nearly $840-million as of March 31, 2025.<\/p>\n

Additionally, the project debt of more than $6.3-billion is not recorded as a liability, or money owed, on the WDBA\u2019s balance sheet. (Perhaps this debt is rolled up at the federal level since the WDBA is a Crown corporation. But the government\u2019s annual financial report does not provide those details.)<\/p>\n

The failure to list the project debt as a liability is not necessarily a problem. Taken together with another disclosure in the report, however, they raise the question of whether the government will recover its money.<\/p>\n

A footnote states that WDBA is a \u201crelated party\u201d of the federal government and all its departments. But it goes on to declare that: \u201cWDBA has no contractual commitments or contingent liabilities with its related parties.\u201d<\/p>\n

That seems inconceivable if there is a multibillion-dollar project debt. Is this a real financial obligation for the WDBA or not? <\/p>\n

There are other reasons to worry about the WDBA\u2019s ability to repay the government. <\/p>\n

In addition to the project debt and interest, there are also annual expenses that are forecast to change from year to year<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The Gordie Howe International Bridge\u2019s toll rates<\/a> for cars and commercial vehicles, meanwhile, are too low compared with those of the Ambassador Bridge<\/a>. For example, cars will pay $8 to cross it versus $14 for the Ambassador Bridge.<\/p>\n

Commercial traffic has also declined in recent years.<\/p>\n

More than 2.2 million trucks used the Ambassador Bridge in 2024, down 34.58 per cent from 2020, according to the Bridge and Tunnel Operators Association<\/a>. <\/p>\n

To me, these numbers suggest the very real possibility that the government will forgive the WDBA\u2019s multibillion-dollar obligation in the future, likely blaming Mr. Trump for mucking up the project\u2019s economics with his punitive trade policies.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, Canadians deserve transparency about Ottawa\u2019s core assumptions for this bridge, including its traffic forecasts, projected toll revenues, and, importantly, whether it actually expects to recoup the project\u2019s debt \u2013 not the shifting explanations provided by Prime Minister Mark Carney<\/a> in recent weeks.<\/p>\n

After the government\u2019s tall talk, taxpayers deserve more than a pinky swear of repayment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: The Gordie Howe Bridge under construction on May 22. The economics of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":141609,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[17,135],"class_list":["post-141608","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-canada","tag-dei"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141608","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=141608"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141608\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/141609"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141608"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=141608"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=141608"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}