Carney says he spoke to Trump after president threatened to block Gordie Howe bridge

PM Carney says he explained to Trump that Canada paid for the construction of the bridge and how it is a shared ownership between Michigan and the government.

WASHINGTON — Prime Minister Mark Carney said Donald Trump’s threat to stall the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge will be resolved following a call with the U.S. president Tuesday.

“I explained that Canada paid for the construction of the bridge — $4 billion — that the ownership is shared between the state of Michigan and the government of Canada,” Carney told reporters in Ottawa before the weekly cabinet meeting.

The prime minister said he also told Trump that Canadian and American steel and workers were involved in the bridge’s construction.

In a social media post late Monday, Trump insisted the U.S. must be compensated before he’ll allow the bridge to open. He claimed the bridge was built with virtually no U.S. content.

“Now, the Canadian Government expects me, as President of the United States, to PERMIT them to just ‘take advantage of America!’” Trump posted. “What does the United States of America get — Absolutely NOTHING!”

In his post, the president complained about U.S. liquor being removed from Ontario stores and repeated misleading allegations about Canada’s dairy sector and its limited tariff deal with Beijing on agriculture products and electric vehicles.

Trump also claimed China will “terminate ALL Ice Hockey being played in Canada” and “permanently eliminate the Stanley Cup.”

Carney said his conversation with Trump involved a “series of issues” that Ottawa will follow up on, in tandem with negotiations on the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade, known as CUSMA. The continental trade pact is up for mandatory review this year.

Trade talks between Canada and the United States have been frozen since October, when Trump was angered by an Ontario-sponsored TV ad that quoted former president Ronald Reagan criticizing tariffs.

While Trump said Monday that “we will start negotiations, IMMEDIATELY,” a White House official speaking on background said the president was referring only to talks about the bridge.

The president requested that U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra, who is from Michigan, help “smooth” the conversation on the bridge, Carney said.

The bridge connecting Windsor, Ont. and Detroit is supposed to open sometime this winter after delays.

The bridge’s construction was negotiated over decades by both Democrat and Republican administrations and state leaders. The project faced massive pushback from the Moroun family, which privately owns the rival Ambassador Bridge and is a major Republican donor.

In a 2012 deal signed by Rick Snyder, the Republican governor at the time, Canada agreed to shoulder the cost of construction, which it would recoup through tolls.

The Trump administration endorsed the bridge project in 2017 during his first term in office.

Democrat state lawmakers were quick to condemn the president’s threats to stall the bridge’s opening. Sen. Elissa Slotkin posted on social media that “cancelling this project will have serious repercussions.”

Some state Republicans defended the president’s move. Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall told “The Detroit News” Tuesday that the “U.S. holds a lot of the cards here.” Hall said Canada should “treat us more fairly,” pointing to “reciprocal” trade deals and Ottawa’s limited agreement with Beijing.

Detroit Regional Chamber president and CEO Sandy K. Baruah said “Canada is more than a neighbour; it is critical to our economic future.”

“There is no greater example of that than the international bridge,” Baruah said in a media statement Monday.

In Ottawa, Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon said “that bridge will stand for over a century as a monument to Canadian and American friendship, ingenuity, work and partnership.”

“I don’t know what motivated the statement yesterday, but what I do know is that bridge will stand the test of time,” he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Feb. 10, 2026.

Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press