Prime Minister Mark Carney said it's good news that the Gordie Howe Bridge between Windsor, Ont., and Detroit will get its official opening at the end of the week.
Carney said Tuesday the bridge is an important symbol of the enduring strength of the bilateral relationship, which has been strained by the ongoing trade war.
"It's positive news, obviously. The bridge will be open at the end of the week and, you know, a symbol, but also a fact of co-operation between our countries," Carney said on his way into the cabinet meeting.
"I just want to salute those who constructed it on both sides and looking forward to getting it done."
A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the bridge, jointly owned by the governments of Canada and Michigan, is set to take place Friday, while the bridge itself is expected to open to traffic later this month.
The immediate future of the bridge was cast in doubt when U.S. President Donald Trump insisted in a social media post in February that the United States would have to be compensated before he would allow it to open.
Carney did not say Tuesday whether Canada offered any concessions to get the bridge opened.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford suggested he is still skeptical the opening will go ahead.
"Let's see if it opens or not," he said Tuesday in Washington, D.C., where he is taking meetings with business groups and other officials. "Hopefully it will, if they say it's going to open. I'm just hearing two stories."
The project has long faced pushback from members of the Moroun family, who own the competing Ambassador Bridge. House Democrats are probing whether the billionaire family took action to obstruct the Gordie Howe bridge project.
The New York Times reported that Matthew Moroun had a meeting with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick just before Trump issued his social media post attacking the project.
Canada paid for the construction of the bridge and will collect revenue from tolls. That revenue will be shared with Michigan once Canada's costs are recuperated.
An agreement on the bridge was struck in 2012 but ground was not broken until 2018 and construction faced numerous delays.
Picture Courtesy: AP Photo/Paul Sancya
