Windsor mayor: I'd rather keep Gordie Howe Bridge closed than accept a bad deal under Trump
The mayor of Windsor, Ontario, Canada, says an effort by President Trump to stall the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge and "force Canada into a bad deal" is unacceptable.
Mayor Drew Dilkens gave an interview on Tuesday to 800 AM CKLW that included a discussion of the bridge delays, and he shared those comments on his social media.
The Gordie Howe Bridge, connecting Windsor and Detroit, has been under construction since 2018 and was expected to open this spring. The Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority said two months ago that the process had reached the testing stage for logistics, including toll systems and border inspection procedures.
Once open, it will provide a third portal for a busy border crossing at the Detroit River. The Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel would each remain open.
The bridge is jointly owned by Michigan and Canada, with Canada financing the $5.7 billion project. The Canadian government plans to recover the funding through toll revenue. That agreement was signed in June 2012, more than four years before Mr. Trump began his first term as president.
Mr. Trump threatened in February to block the opening of the new bridge "until the United States is fully compensated for everything we have given them."
There's been no update from the bridge authority regarding the opening date since Mr. Trump's remarks.
"You know what? If the United States is trying to force Canada into accepting a bad deal to open this bridge, I would say keep it closed," Dilkens told CKLW this week.
"Because we haven't ever had the second bridge. Wait until we get a good deal. Don't go on bended knee after we paid for the whole thing and say we desperately need to have this open. Of course, we all want it open. Everyone in the city has seen it. We've been part of the process for 25 years, seeing it built, all the trials and tribulations. We've seen it come up out of the ground. We've seen it join in the middle. We know the excitement. We're all excited to ride our bike or drive across it.
"But if it means our country has to take a bad deal to satisfy the president of the United States, I would wait until there's a time when there's a good deal."
Dilkens went on to say, "With uncertainty still surrounding the official opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge, one thing is clear: Canada has done its part. We invested, we delivered, and we upheld our commitments," Dilkens said. "Using the opening of the bridge as leverage to force Canada into a bad deal is unacceptable. Strong partnerships depend on trust, cooperation, and respect for the agreements that were made."
The above video originally aired on Feb. 10, 2026.
