As the federal government faces questions over the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling on Prime Minister Mark Carney to publicize details of the deal between Canada and the United States to open the delayed project.
In a letter addressed to Carney on Friday, Poilievre is accusing the prime minister of “contradictory statements about what you’ve given away.”
“So, what’s the deal? It’s been a week; it’s time for you to release the deal so Canadians can see for themselves what you negotiated away to the Americans,” Poilievre later writes.
Late last Friday, Housing, Communities and Infrastructure Canada confirmed the bridge, which will connect Windsor, Ont. and Detroit, Mich. will open on July 27 after weeks of delays. Since then, the federal government’s explanation of the deal has evolved.
That same day, a senior government source told CTV News that Canada will be getting 50 per cent of the bridge’s toll profits in the first 15 years, with the other 50 per cent going into an economic development fund.
The source also said the U.S. will need to agree if Canada wants to increase bridge tolls by more than 10 per cent or lower them below compared regional averages.
Then in an interview with CTV Calgary on Sunday, Carney explained that money split with the Americans would be minimal and would only happen once debt from the bridge was paid.
“The word ‘net’ does a lot of work in this. We are sharing after Canada is paid back,” the prime minister said at the time.
“We get the revenues. Then the servicing of the costs of the bridge and paying the debt of the bridge, and then what’s left over, there’s a split of that for 15 years,” he said.
“There’s not going to be a lot of net to split,” he later added, while also clarifying that money put into the economic development will be reinvested in the U.S. side of the region.
That same day, Housing and Infrastructure Minister Gregor Robertson posted to X, saying “Canada will continue to collect all toll revenue, with half of net profits then going toward local economic development for 15 years.”
But speaking to reporters at an unrelated announcement in London, Ont. on Thursday, Carney referred to a “split of net revenues” while Robertson had pointed to “net profits.”
“Splitting of tolls, any sharing of the toll revenue won’t happen until all of the debt is repaid,” Carney said on Thursday. “We will split net revenues over the course of the first 15 years, and those net revenues are after operational costs.”
Net revenue, however, is the total amount of money a company makes after sales and discounts, while net profit refers to what remains after deducting all business expenses, including operating costs.
Carney also said on Thursday that he expects “net revenues will be modest” from the bridge during the first few years, even saying they will likely “be negative.”
The deal, meanwhile, has sparked some criticism for being another concession to the Trump administration.
As part of the original deal first signed in 2012, Canada agreed to front the full construction costs, which grew to $6.4 billion, and later collect 100 per cent of revenue until it recouped its investment. The agreement estimated that recoupment would take at least 50 years after which Canada and Michigan would equally split toll revenues.
So far, a written version of the new deal has not been made public.
In a statement to CTV News on Wednesday, when asked if the agreement will be published, the Prime Minister’s Office said, “both countries are finalising the legal and administrative details, and we will continue to provide updates as this work proceeds.”
CTV News has also reached out to the White House and the U.S. Department of Commerce for clarification on the agreement.
The bridge set to open July 27 after postponement
The new crossing is expected to significantly ease congestion at the nearby Ambassador Bridge and streamline cross-border trade.
The bridge has been ready since last month, and there was expectation it would open in June after Carney appeared to confirm reporting from U.S. media outlets.
But days later, a ribbon-cutting ceremony and the opening was put on hold with Carney insisting at the time that there was “no big drama.”
Earlier this year, CTV News reported that both sides were trying to quietly negotiate an opening date after Trump complained in a social media post in February that Canada was not treating the U.S. fairly on trade. The lengthy tirade included the construction of the bridge as part of his grievance.
At the time, the New York Times had also reported that Matthew Moroun, who is the owner of the nearby Ambassador Bridge and a Trump donor, met with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick hours before Trump’s social media post in February.
After the latest deal was announced, Trump took credit for it in a post to Truth Social, describing it as a “MUCH BETTER DEAL for America.”
Construction on the bridge began in 2018. The cable-stayed bridge will have three Canadian-bound and three U.S.-bound lanes and will be among the top five longest bridges in North America.
