Ontario's premier says the best thing for Canada and the U.S. is 'to open the Gordie Howe International Bridge' between Windsor and Detroit.
Premier Doug Ford was noncommittal when asked about Mayor Drew Dilkens' request to the province to provide an exemption under Section 40 of the Municipal Act to let the city collect tolls from U.S.-bound truck traffic heading to the Ambassador Bridge along Huron Church Road in Windsor.
Ford spoke about the situation during a stop at the NextStar Energy battery manufacturing plant in Windsor.
"I've always said I'm against tolls, but in this case. What I love about Mayor Dilkens is that this guy thinks outside the box. If they don't get the Gordie Howe Bridge open soon, then we're going to unleash Mayor Dilkens on them," he said.
Dilken wants to see the city begin collecting tolls in May and continue until the Gordie Howe International Bridge is open.
He said they can tie this up in court and go through the trials and tribulations only to get to the endgame where this new bridge opens.
"Until that happens, I want to fill city coffers with some of the money we have spent, the expenses that we have incurred," said Dilkens. "This is all from property tax dollars; there's no magic pot of money that we've been able to pull funding from to deal with the issues that we've dealt with in this community for 25 years and continue to deal with today."
The call comes after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to block the opening of the new crossing between Windsor and Detroit in a Truth Social post on February 9.
Dilkens said the president is putting information out that is factually incorrect, and it has an impact on our community.
"I just look at the money we're spending, and I say, 'You know what? What power do I have within my control?' I own a municipal road that leads to an international border crossing, and that road gets beat up every single day with 6,000 to 10,000 trucks that go back and forth, and municipal taxpayers pay for the cost of maintenance on Huron Church Road. I just want them to be made whole," he said.
On February 10, The New York Times reported that Trump's threat came hours after U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick met with Matthew Moroun, the billionaire owner of the Ambassador Bridge, which has been pushing back against the new crossing for decades.
Premier Ford said the Ambassador Bridge is the busiest bridge in North America.
"They want a monopoly; well, that monopoly is not going to happen. We need to open up the Gordie Howe Bridge down the road a bit and get traffic going back and forth," he said.
In 2017, the federal government issued a permit for the Ambassador Bridge to expand its operations and customs plaza in Windsor, which Dilkens says ultimately cost the city $3 million in engineering studies and reviews.
The $6.5 billion Gordie Howe International Bridge is scheduled to open in early 2026.