{"id":141978,"date":"2026-07-24T05:23:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T05:23:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/141978\/"},"modified":"2026-07-24T05:23:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T05:23:09","slug":"canada-is-holding-a-solo-celebration-of-new-bridge-to-the-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/141978\/","title":{"rendered":"Canada is holding a solo celebration of new bridge to the US"},"content":{"rendered":"

WINDSOR, Ontario (AP) \u2014 Officials are gathering Friday in Ontario to take delight in a new U.S.-Canada bridge<\/a> over the Detroit River, an international span that is expected to enhance trade on both sides of the border and give travelers another route to both countries.<\/p>\n

A ceremony is taking place in Windsor, Ontario, before the Gordie Howe International Bridge opens to traffic Monday. It was supposed to be a celebration on the bridge deck with officials from both countries, but Canada said no to a joint gathering<\/a> after President Donald Trump this week suddenly announced 50% tariffs on Canadian goods entering the U.S.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s regretful that we\u2019re at this point in time with our trade relationship. We\u2019re hopeful for better days ahead,\u201d Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens told WXYZ-TV in Detroit.<\/p>\n

More than 70% of Canada\u2019s exports<\/a> go to the U.S., making America its largest trade partner, and Detroit is the No. 1 port for truck traffic on the U.S.-Canada border, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. <\/a><\/p>\n

The Howe bridge will instantly create competition. For nearly a century, the privately owned Ambassador Bridge<\/a> has been the only route for large commercial trucks moving between the U.S. and Canada at Detroit. <\/p>\n

Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield said she had been invited to a two-country event Friday before things abruptly changed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will be vital for our economy,\u201d Sheffield said of the bridge, sidestepping a question about whether it had become a \u201cpolitical football\u201d in the rocky relationship between the countries.<\/p>\n

The bridge is named for Howe, a famous Canadian who played hockey for the NHL\u2019s Detroit Red Wings. He died in 2016. Construction, which began in 2018, took years, partly because of a global slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

The six-lane bridge is 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) long and stands 151 feet (46 meters) above the Detroit River at its highest point. Pedestrians and bicyclists carrying proper identification will be able to cross it for free in a few weeks.<\/p>\n

Canada paid to build the bridge at an estimated cost of $6.4 billion. A recent agreement says Canada will share some toll revenue with the U.S. government for 15 years. Michigan will also get a share, but not until Canada\u2019s costs are recovered, likely decades in the future. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WINDSOR, Ontario (AP) \u2014 Officials are gathering Friday in Ontario to take delight in a new U.S.-Canada bridge…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":141979,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[525,17,591,10560,162,32932,2039,592,5855,434,46677,24271,2737,113,19229,3942,218],"class_list":["post-141978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-business","tag-canada","tag-canada-government","tag-detroit","tag-donald-trump","tag-drew-dilkens","tag-economic-policy","tag-general-news","tag-government-policy","tag-international-trade","tag-mary-sheffield","tag-mi-state-wire","tag-michigan","tag-politics","tag-transportation","tag-u-s-news","tag-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141978","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=141978"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141978\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/141979"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=141978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=141978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}