OTTAWA — A Michigan Democrat says Canadians have every right to be angry over the treatment of Canada by the Trump administration as the $6.4-billion, Canadian-financed Gordie Howe International Bridge prepares to open.Rep. Debbie Dingell said Friday that she was “as disgusted as the Canadians are” following new U.S. tariffs and months of uncertainty surrounding the Windsor-Detroit crossing.“They’re mad, and they have every right to be mad,” Dingell said during an interview with MS NOW. “They paid for that bridge. We have been waiting for this bridge to open for a decade, and I’m as disgusted as the Canadians are.”The Michigan congresswoman said Canada had long been one of the United States’ closest partners.“When I grew up, Canada was as close to me as the wall is in this studio,” she said. “I didn’t even know about borders. I’d get in my boat, went over to Canada and nobody stopped you. You didn’t even understand customs.”Dingell said she remains in regular contact with Canadians and has also spoken with U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra.She also criticized President Donald Trump’s decision to target Canadian hockey sticks as part of his latest round of tariffs.“The bridge that will open, according to everything we understand — I still get nervous — is supposed to open on Monday morning,” she said.“But it’s called the Gordie Howe Bridge after one of the greatest hockey players in our country, and Canadian-born. And he put a tariff on hockey sticks. I mean, it just makes no sense.”The bridge was officially inaugurated during a Canadian ceremony in Windsor on Friday and is scheduled to open to vehicle traffic at noon Monday.A planned joint ceremony involving Canadian and American officials was cancelled after Trump announced his intention to impose 50% tariffs on a significant number of Canadian goods.Ottawa said holding a binational celebration would be inappropriate in light of the latest U.S. trade action..Trump responded Friday by saying Canada had “disinvited” the United States from the ceremony and used the occasion to celebrate the revised bridge agreement.“Canada disinvited the United States of America to the opening of the Gordie Howe Bridge, which is fine, considering they are paying substantial tariffs to the United States,” Trump wrote.Trump said the original agreement, which he described as “terribly negotiated by a previous administration,” no longer stands.“We changed the terms of the Deal so that the United States of America now gets 50% of the Profit,” he wrote.Canada financed the entire bridge project, including the American customs plaza and the highway interchange connecting the crossing to Interstate 75 in Michigan.Under the original 2012 agreement, Canada was to recover its investment through toll revenues before profits were divided with Michigan.A new agreement reached this month provides annual U.S. economic participation payments equal to 50% of net bridge and crossing-related revenues during the first 15 years of operations.The bridge is jointly owned by Canada and Michigan, but Ottawa remains responsible for recovering the money borrowed to finance its construction.Dingell has previously opposed Trump’s attempts to delay the crossing, arguing the bridge will support Michigan workers and strengthen cross-border trade.The six-lane bridge spans the Detroit River between Windsor and Detroit and includes a separate path for pedestrians and cyclists.
