Gordie Howe bridge opening deal: What we know and don't know

Federal officials are refusing to share more details about the Canada-U.S. deal for the long-awaited opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge connecting Ontario and Michigan as opposition MPs demand answers to lingering questions.

Gordie Howe bridge opening deal: What we know and don't know Opposition MPs demanding answers from Canadian government Federal officials are refusing to share more details about the Canada-U.S. deal to open the Gordie Howe International Bridge connecting Ontario and Michigan as opposition MPs demand answers to lingering questions. "People here need to know what's going on and how is this deal supposed to work, and so far, we have scant details whatsoever," said Conservative MP Harb Gill, whose Windsor West riding includes the new span. "We heard more from folks running for office on the other side [of the border] than we did from our own government.

And that's disappointing, especially since we paid for the bridge, regardless of what anybody else says." The original deal Under the original bridge deal signed in 2012, Canada would collect all tolls and use the revenue to pay down the cost of building the bridge that now sits at $6.4 billion Cdn. Michigan, which co-owns the crossing with Canada, would get half of toll revenues once the bridge was paid off, likely decades later.

But in February, U.S. President Donald Trump erupted on social media over the bridge, saying he would block it from opening "until the United States is fully compensated for everything we have given [Canada]." That threat came after the owners of the Ambassador Bridge, which is expected to lose toll revenue once the new bridge opens, spent millions on lobbying in Washington and donated heavily to Republicans. Moroun donated $1M US to Trump-supporting super PAC before Gordie Howe bridge threats Morouns ramped up bridge lobbying before Trump’s Gordie Howe threats Despite the firestorm, the bridge seemed poised to open in June, but was delayed at the request of the U.S., Prime Minister Mark Carney said at the time.

After weeks of talks between top officials on both sides of the border, there was a breakthrough: On Friday evening, the Canadian government announced the bridge will open July 27 "with the support of the United States government." The new deal The statement said Canada and the U.S. had "agreed to a series of co-operative measures focused on toll governance and transparency, as well as investments in the region, including through the establishment of a 15-year economic development fund tied to a portion of profits from bridge operations." The statement added that the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority, the Crown corporation that oversees the new crossing, "will also work collaboratively with the government of the United States on toll-rate adjustments, seeking concurrence for certain non-market related toll changes."

The statement didn't provide any more information about the agreement. Trump took credit for the deal, calling it "great, and fair." On Saturday, a senior Canadian government