The Gordie Howe International Bridge, a $4.5 billion span linking Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, is set to open to traffic as early as noon on Monday, July 27.
Canadian officials gathered Friday morning for a celebration of the opening, with speakers including Ontario Premier Doug Ford, Canadian Ambassador to the U.S. Mark Wiseman, Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens, and Gordie Howe’s youngest son, Dr. Murray Howe.
The bridge is named after the Hall of Fame Canadian-born hockey legend who played for the Detroit Red Wings, a figure celebrated on both sides of the border.
Construction began in 2018, and the project was first proposed more than two decades ago, making it one of the largest cross-border infrastructure efforts in recent memory.
The joint U.S.-Canada opening ceremony was scrapped after President Trump announced new tariffs on Canadian goods, leaving Canada to hold its own celebration without American participation.
In February 2026, Trump threatened to block the bridge from opening, alleging the project had used only Canadian steel, a claim that Canadian officials, including Prime Minister Mark Carney, publicly refuted.
Critics, including Democratic Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, drew a connection between the delay and a $1 million donation made in January 2026 by the Moroun family to a Trump-supporting super PAC, though that link remains speculative.
The Moroun family owns the only other bridge connecting Detroit and Windsor, and a meeting between a Moroun representative and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in February preceded Trump’s announcement that he would block the bridge’s opening.
A tentative deal reached this month between the two countries will split toll revenue surplus over operating costs for 15 years, to be used for economic development “for the benefit of the United States and trade between Canada and the United States.”
Trump posted on Truth Social on July 11 that “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.”
Despite Trump’s praise of the agreement, the agency operating the bridge published a report projecting a $71 million loss in its first year, followed by a $2 million loss the next fiscal year, before a forecasted profit of $12.76 million in 2028.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday that his government expects the United States to receive roughly 5% of the construction cost, approximately $227 million, over the 15-year revenue-sharing period.
The Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority had previously scheduled a grand opening in June, only to cancel it at the last minute, catching off guard those such as Stephen Laskowski, president of the Canadian Trucking Alliance, who was already en route to attend.
