Canada opens US border bridge after cancelling joint ceremony

Canada held its own inauguration ceremony Friday for a new bridge to the United States after cancelling a joint ceremony following the announcement of new US tariffs on several Canadian products.

Housing and Infrastructure Minister Gregor Robertson spoke at the ceremony on the Canadian side of the Gordie Howe Bridge, which is due to open to traffic on Monday. He said the bridge showed what the two countries could build when they worked together.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said the US-Canada relationship had been challenged in recent years, but called for both sides to keep working together.

US President Donald Trump marked the opening in a social media post with a combative tone. He said Canada had disinvited the United States from the opening and linked that to tariffs paid to the United States. He also said the terms of the deal had been changed so the United States would receive 50 percent of the profit.

The 2.5-kilometre, or 1.5-mile, bridge connects Detroit in the United States with Windsor in Canada. It is named after Canadian-born ice hockey player Gordie Howe, who played for US teams. Construction began in 2018, and Canada fully financed the CAN$6.4 billion, or $4.5 billion, cost.

Trump on Monday ordered a 50-percent duty on many Canadian goods to take effect in 30 days. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he was considering all options in response and that he and Trump had agreed to intensify discussions in the coming weeks.

Carney faced criticism after the release Tuesday of a proposed agreement on financial management of the bridge, which critics viewed as highly favourable to the United States. The terms said Canada would pay into a US economic development fund an amount equal to 50 percent of the bridge's net revenue for 15 years.

On Thursday, Carney said the revenue sharing would apply only to money remaining after Canada first met regular debt service obligations from the bridge's construction. He said a 2012 agreement remained in place and described the arrangement as a good deal, while saying he should have been clearer.

In February, Trump had threatened to fully block the bridge, saying the United States had been treated unfairly in its construction and that it should be at least half US-owned.