President Donald Trump unleashed a nearly 300-word tirade on Truth Social Monday night, threatening to block the opening of a new international bridge between the United States and Canada unless the Canadian government hands over at least half ownership of the structure—despite the fact that Canada paid for it entirely.
The nearly complete Gordie Howe International Bridge, which connects Windsor, Ontario, with Detroit, Michigan, has become the latest flashpoint in Trump’s escalating feud with America’s northern neighbor. The 79-year-old president’s late-night post came as Democrats prepare to force a vote in the U.S. House this week on his controversial Canadian tariffs.
“As everyone knows, the Country of Canada has treated the United States very unfairly for decades,” Trump said in his Monday night message that he would refuse to permit the bridge to open until the U.S. was fully repaid for its contributions and until Canada showed the level of fairness and respect he believed the United States deserved.
The bridge, which cost approximately $6.4 billion CAD and was funded entirely by the Canadian government, will be jointly owned by Canada and Michigan once completed. Construction began in June 2018—during Trump’s first term—and the crossing is expected to open within the next few months.
Trump blamed former President Barack Obama for “stupidly” approving the project and giving Canada a waiver to bypass the Buy American Act. But the president conveniently omitted a crucial detail: he himself endorsed the bridge as a priority project in 2017 alongside then-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, with both leaders calling it “a vital economic link between our two countries.”
The project dates back to 2012, when Michigan Governor Rick Snyder accepted the Canadian government’s offer to fund most of the bridge’s costs, using executive authority to bypass the state legislature. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security published a rule on January 30 declaring the bridge an official port of entry.
Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens didn’t mince words about Trump’s threats. “It’s just insane, when I read that post I can’t believe what I’m reading, but it’s par for the course,” Dilkens told CBC News.
A spokesperson for Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer struck a defiant tone. “This project has been a tremendous example of bipartisan and international cooperation,” the spokesperson told CNN. “It’s good for Michigan workers and it’s good for Michigan’s auto industry.”
The bridge will become the third border crossing between Detroit and Windsor, alongside the Ambassador Bridge and the Windsor-Detroit Tunnel. The Moroun family, which owns the Ambassador Bridge, had previously appealed to Trump during his first term to prevent construction, arguing the new bridge infringed on their exclusive toll-collecting rights.
Trump’s fury appears linked to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s recent negotiations with China. In January, Carney secured a deal allowing up to 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles into Canada annually at a 6.1% tariff—down from 100%—in exchange for China slashing tariffs on Canadian canola from 85% to 15%.
The president’s post included a bizarre and false claim that China would force Canada to abandon ice hockey. Trump claimed that China would “eat Canada alive” and asserted that its first move would be to shut down all ice hockey in the country and do away with the Stanley Cup permanently.
The president has previously threatened to impose a 100% tariff on Canada if it follows through on its trade deal with China. He has also made repeated threats to annex Canada and turn it into the 51st state.
Senator Elissa Slotkin, a Michigan Democrat, warned that blocking the bridge would damage her state’s economy. “Canceling this project will have serious repercussions. Higher costs for Michigan businesses, less secure supply chains, and ultimately, fewer jobs,” Slotkin said, adding that Trump is “punishing Michiganders for a trade war he started.”
The confrontation follows nearly a year of deteriorating relations between the Trump administration and Canada. At the World Economic Forum in Davos last month, Prime Minister Carney warned of a “rupture” in the world order, declaring that middle powers must work together because “if we’re not at the table, we’re on the menu.”
Trump’s response was characteristically aggressive. “Canada lives because of the United States. Remember that, Mark, next time you make your statements,” he fired back.
The president’s Monday night posting came as part of a broader pattern. Early Tuesday morning, just after 2:30 a.m. ET, Trump launched another social media blitz on Truth Social, sharing messages that reached back to the 1980s and included photos from his meeting with President Ronald Reagan in 1987.
As the Gordie Howe Bridge nears completion, Trump’s ability to legally block its opening remains untested—though the presidential permit authorizing construction, issued in 2013, could theoretically be revoked. The threat represents yet another salvo in his ongoing war of words with Canada, a country he continues to antagonize despite decades of close diplomatic and economic ties.