The former chair of the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority (WDBA) says he's not surprised that U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to block the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge.
Dwight Duncan says since Trump started a tariff war, he assumed he would do something like this to the bridge.
Trump said in a social media post Monday that the U.S. should own "at least one half of this asset" and the U.S. will "immediately" start negotiations so they are compensated before the bridge opens.
Duncan, who served as the chair of the WDBA from Jan. 2016 to Dec. 2021, says he has confidence in Prime Minister Mark Carney. Carney said Tuesday that he spoke with Trump and expressed confidence that the spat would be resolved.
Despite Trump's claims, Michigan owns their side, while Canada owns the Windsor side. In June 2012, Canada and Michigan signed the Canada-Michigan Crossing Agreement, which allowed the project to move ahead.
Under the deal, Canada agreed to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the crossing through a public-private partnership. Under the agreement, tolls collected from bridge users will be used to reimburse Canada for the funds it advanced.
Duncan says he's not too concerned after seeing the quick action by Carney.
"I think the Prime Minister is right, he's been in conversations with the president... this is all bargaining. Frankly, it's unnecessary, it causes great angst and fear - particularly in communities like ours. I am as angry as anybody would be at Trump, that being said, I have confidence in the Prime Minister and his governments ability to manage this."
He says this bridge process is 25 years in the making.
"We have now had five Presidents of the United States, five Prime Ministers of Canada, since the first formal process on this bridge began in 2001. Every one of those presidents and prime ministers - including Trump in his first term - has moved the yardsticks forward."
Duncan says he's concerned with the number of inaccuracies in Trump's post about the bridge.
"The State of Michigan owns the American side. Canada did not pay for this, Canada has financed it and they financed Michigan's portion. Michigan will pay Canada back through its share of the tolls... how long that will take, and how it will be amortized... I don't know."
In 2012, the federal government created the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority, a Crown corporation responsible for delivering and operating the project.
The project's cost is now pegged at about $6.4-billion.
Construction on the Gordie Howe Bridge began in 2018.
It was originally slated to open Nov. 2024, but was delayed until fall 2025, and recently delayed again to early 2026.
-with files from AM800's The Shift with Patty Handysides