President Trump Reveals Long-Awaited Bridge Will Open After Negotiating ‘Much Better Deal’ With Canada

Commuters on either side of the US-Canada border have long been waiting for the Gordie Howe Bridge to open up a new route between Michigan and Ontario.

And after President Donald Trump initially pushed back on the project in favor of securing benefits for the United States, he confirmed this weekend that a favorable deal was in place and traffic would begin flowing later this month.

According to The Hill:

“I was able to cut a MUCH BETTER DEAL for America, and by so doing, will be allowing the new and spectacular Gordie Howe International Bridge, spanning Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, to open on July 27th, as scheduled,” he wrote.

“The original deal made was unacceptable to me!” he wrote online. “The new deal is great, and fair. Thank you and congratulations to the Canadian Government. May we both have many years of success with this wonderful new development!!!”

Canada said it agreed to a series of measures between the two nations to “ensure that benefits are felt on both sides of the border.”

The president’s update sparked some social media chatter:

Here are some of the details on what Canada had to give up to open the Gordie Howe Bridge, as per a Canadian government source.

For the first 15 years, Canada gets 50% of toll profits and the other 50% goes into a regional "economic development fund." What that fund does and who…

— Mackenzie Gray (@Gray_Mackenzie) July 11, 2026

Here’s the full text of the post above:

Here are some of the details on what Canada had to give up to open the Gordie Howe Bridge, as per a Canadian government source.

For the first 15 years, Canada gets 50% of toll profits and the other 50% goes into a regional “economic development fund.” What that fund does and who runs, is not clear

Under the previous agreement, Canada was to receive 100% of toll profit until they were made whole on the $6.4B they spent to build the bridge, which Michigan/the US contributed $0. The agreement also says it could be 50+ years before Canada was whole, that timeline is now longer.

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The Americans will have to agree if Canada wants to increase the bridge tolls by more than 10%, or lower them below compared regional averages.

That clause helps out the owners of the Ambassador Bridge, the Maroun family, who have donated to the Trump administration and previously to US ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra, to try and stop the new bridge from opening #cdnpoli

Excellent news

— Detective Mark Harry (Retired) 👮‍♂️✝️ (@DirtyHarry8080) July 11, 2026

Way to show the 51st State who is the boss!

— Just A Person (@JustAPerson2100) July 11, 2026

Here’s some additional coverage from Fox Business:

Both sides agreed that half of the net profit the bridge generates will go to a regional development fund, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing a Canadian official.

The original deal stipulated that all toll revenue would go to Canada until it recovered the approximately 6.4 billion CAD it cost to build the bridge. Construction began in 2018 and Canada agreed to foot the entire bill.

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The Canadian official also told The Journal that the bridge authority will need U.S. approval before raising tolls by 10% or more. Approval would also be needed if the authority were to cut tolls below what is charged for comparable crossings, such as Ambassador Bridge, the official said.

And here’s some additional coverage: