{"id":802627,"date":"2026-07-15T02:45:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T02:45:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/802627\/"},"modified":"2026-07-15T02:45:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T02:45:12","slug":"ottawa-makes-no-promise-to-release-text-of-new-gordie-howe-bridge-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/802627\/","title":{"rendered":"Ottawa makes no promise to release text of new Gordie Howe bridge deal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

The Gordie Howe Bridge which spans between Windsor and Detroit is shown under construction in May.Paul Sancya\/The Associated Press<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Mark Carney is playing down the amount of toll profits Canada will share with the United States under a new deal to open the Gordie Howe International Bridge, but his government is so far making no commitment to release the text of the arrangement.<\/p>\n

The new Windsor-Detroit crossing, along one of Canada\u2019s most important trade corridors, is set to open July 27 after months of uncertainty stemming from a threat by U.S. President Donald Trump to block its debut. The new pact with Washington, announced Friday, appears to satisfy Mr. Trump\u2019s demands for a better deal.<\/p>\n

Canada, which solely financed the $6.4-billion cost of building the bridge based on a 2012 agreement with Michigan, was planning to recoup this money over decades by collecting the entirety of the tolls. This would have covered both the money it advanced and the funds borrowed to finance construction.<\/p>\n

Splitting Gordie Howe bridge profits with U.S. \u2018good deal\u2019 for both countries, minister says<\/a><\/p>\n

But in the new agreement announced last week, Canada will share toll profits with the United States for the next decade and a half. Mr. Trump, in a social media post over the weekend, called this a \u201cMUCH BETTER DEAL for America.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Ottawa, for 15 years Canada will send 50 per cent of the profits from tolls to an economic development fund for the apparent benefit of the United States.<\/p>\n

Mr. Carney, however, in remarks Sunday, sought to minimize these distributions. He noted the profits shared with the United States would be the net profits after various costs, including debt repayment. \u201cSo, we get the revenues. Then the servicing of the costs of the bridge and paying the debt of the bridge, and then what\u2019s left over \u2013 there\u2019s a split of that for 15 years, and the U.S. money is invested back in economic development in the region,\u201d he told CTV News Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s not going to be a lot of net to split,\u201d the Prime Minister said. \u201cSo look, it\u2019s a good deal for Canada, and what\u2019s really good is getting the bridge done on time, on budget and to build out together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked if Canada intends to release a copy of this new deal, Prime Minister\u2019s Office spokesperson Audrey Champoux did not directly answer the question. She instead provided a statement saying last week\u2019s deal was an \u201cagreement in principle\u201d to open the Gordie Howe International Bridge on July 27.\u2033 She added that updates to the public would be provided as talks continue.<\/p>\n

Ms. Champoux, the PMO\u2019s deputy director of communications for media relations, said this latest agreement allowed the Windsor Detroit Bridge Authority and border officials in both countries to \u201ccommence necessary preparations\u201d for the opening.<\/p>\n

She said Canada and the United States are still hammering out the fine print.<\/p>\n

\u201cOfficials in both countries are finalizing the legal and administrative details and we will continue to provide updates as this work proceeds,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Ms. Champoux added that the 15-year net-profit-sharing deal with the Americans is an effort to create \u201can incentive for both countries to make the bridge profitable\u201d after it opens.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the Prime Minister said, we expect these net profits to be a small portion of total bridge revenue,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Opinion: Canada built the Gordie Howe bridge. Trump weaponized it<\/a><\/p>\n

Shuvaloy Majumdar, the Conservative critic for Canada-U.S. relations, is calling for transparency on the deal. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of aspects to something as complex as this infrastructure, and I think Canadians are owed details before the bridge opens. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s unreasonable,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He added that Canadians shouldn\u2019t have to rely on the Prime Minister\u2019s word that the deal is a good one.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho\u2019s in charge of the economic development fund that will be going to the U.S. side?\u201d Mr. Majumdar said. \u201cDid Canada get something \u2013 anything \u2013 beyond opening the bridge as part of the wider bilateral relationship that we\u2019re trying to navigate our way through?\u201d<\/p>\n

One risk of releasing the details now if they offer little benefit to the United States in terms of profit sharing is that it could prompt Mr. Trump to demand more.<\/p>\n

The 2012 agreement between Canada and Michigan suggested it could take the Canadian government 50 years to recoup the money it had spent on the Gordie Howe bridge. That was before the profit-sharing deal with the United States announced last week.<\/p>\n

Now, it\u2019s unknown exactly how long it will take Canada to recover the money for the project.<\/p>\n

The Moroun family, which owns the existing Ambassador Bridge between Windsor and Detroit, had been lobbying against the Gordie Howe bridge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: The Gordie Howe Bridge which spans between Windsor and Detroit is shown under…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":802628,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194295],"tags":[49,48,20739,714],"class_list":["post-802627","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ottawa","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-ottawa","tag-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/802627","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=802627"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/802627\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/802628"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=802627"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=802627"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=802627"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}