Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke to Donald Trump about the Gordie Howe International Bridge Tuesday morning, one day after the U.S. president threatened to prevent it from opening.
"I explained that Canada paid for the construction of the bridge — $4 billion — that the ownership is shared between the state of Michigan and the government of Canada," Carney told reporters in Ottawa, before the weekly cabinet meeting.
The prime minister said he also told Trump Canadian and American steel and workers were involved in the bridge's construction.
In a social media post late Monday, Trump insisted the U.S. must be compensated before he'll allow the bridge to open. He claimed the bridge was built with virtually no U.S. content.
"Now, the Canadian Government expects me, as President of the United States, to PERMIT them to just 'take advantage of America!'" Trump posted. "What does the United States of America get — Absolutely NOTHING!"
In his post, the president repeated misleading allegations about Canada's dairy sector and its limited tariff deal with Beijing on agriculture products and electric vehicles.
Trump claimed China will "terminate ALL Ice Hockey being played in Canada" and "permanently eliminate the Stanley Cup."
Carney said his conversation with Trump turned to a "series of issues" that Ottawa will follow up on, in tandem with negotiations on the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade, known as CUSMA. The continental trade pact is up for mandatory review this year.
Trade talks between Canada and the United States have been frozen since October, when Trump was angered by an Ontario-sponsored TV ad that quoted former president Ronald Reagan criticizing tariffs.
While Trump said Monday that "we will start negotiations, IMMEDIATELY," a White House official speaking on background said the president was referring only to talks about the bridge.
The bridge connecting Windsor, Ont. and Detroit is supposed to open sometime this winter after delays.
The Trump administration endorsed the bridge project in 2017 during his first term in office.
Detroit Regional Chamber president and CEO Sandy K. Baruah said "Canada is more than a neighbour; it is critical to our economic future."
"There is no greater example of that than the international bridge," Baruah said in a media statement Monday.
Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
