Fact File: Revisiting Trump’s false claims about the Gordie Howe bridge

The Gordie Howe International Bridge connecting Ontario and Michigan is set to open, months after U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to block it.

Prime Minister Mark Carney and Ontario Premier Doug Ford have suggested that Friday’s scheduled bridge opening might be delayed, but Carney said on Wednesday he is confident the span will open “as soon as possible.”

Trump was initially a booster of the project. A 2017 joint statement from Trump and Justin Trudeau, who was then prime minister, noted both leaders looked forward to the bridge’s completion, calling it “a vital economic link.”

But in February of this year, Trump lambasted Canada on the social media platform Truth Social for what he called its unfair treatment of the United States regarding the bridge.

His Feb. 9 post included false and misleading information about the bridge. Here is a look at some of his claims. 

THE CLAIM

In his Truth Social post, Trump claimed Canada owns the entire bridge, including the part of the bridge located on U.S. soil. 

“With all that we have given them, we should own, perhaps, at least one half of this asset,” he wrote. 

THE FACTS

The Canadian government signed an agreement with the State of Michigan in 2012 to build the bridge.

Neither the United States nor Michigan paid for the bridge. Canada funded its entire construction at a cost of $6.4 billion, but Canada and Michigan ownership.

The agreement specified that a Canadian crossing authority — in this case the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority, a Canadian Crown corporation — would design, construct, finance, operate and maintain the bridge. 

“The Michigan Parties are not obligated to pay any of the costs of the new International Crossing,” the agreement reads. 

THE CLAIM 

Trump’s post included a claim that Canada built the bridge with “virtually no U.S. content.”

He wrote that “President Barack Hussein Obama stupidly gave them a waiver so they could get around the BUY AMERICAN Act, and not use any American products, including our Steel.”

THE FACTS

The waiver Trump is referring to was issued in 2012 by the U.S. Federal Highway Administration, and it removed a requirement to buy steel and iron manufactured in the United States for federal projects. 

Because the bridge was deemed to be in the public interest and because Canada was financing the project, the administration approved the waiver, allowing the use of both Canadian and American steel during construction.

The Canadian government said in 2022 that Canadian-supplied iron and steel would be used for the main bridge and for parts of the Canadian port of entry customs plaza. Carney said he spoke to Trump in February and told him that steel from both countries was used in the construction.

An agreement between the Windsor-Detroit bridge authority and its private sector partner Bridging North America related to the bridge’s construction notes there cannot be discrimination in favour of either Canada or the United States with respect to materials used. 

It specifies that iron and steel materials must be produced either in Canada or from a combination of American and Canadian sources. 

The agreement adds that a small amount of non-American and non-Canadian steel and iron can be used if it does not exceed 0.1 per cent of the total contract amount.

THE CLAIM 

Trump said the United States will get “absolutely nothing” from the bridge. Toward the end of his Truth Social post, Trump said bridge revenues would be “astronomical” and the United States should own part of the bridge because of what it had given Canada. 

THE FACTS

Drivers must pay a toll to cross the bridge, and because Canada paid for the bridge upfront, it will receive those toll revenues to cover the cost.

Americans will receive a share of revenues once Canada recoups the cost of construction, according to the 2012 agreement. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 10, 2026. 

By Marissa Birnie | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.