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Or sign-in if you have an account.Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks to journalists about U.S. President Donald Trump's new 50% tariff threat in the Parliamentary Precinct in Ottawa July 21, 2026. Photo by Blair Gable/Postmedia Photo by Blair Gable /Photo by Blair Gable / PostmediaTen days after word of the deal was first announced, the details of the Gordie Howe International Bridge revenue-sharing agreement between Canada and the U.S. have finally emerged.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. 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Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorThat’s at least nine days longer than otherwise should have been the case, but clearly those details were going to emerge at some point. So why on earth was the prime minister making claims about the deal that would inevitably be disproven and discredited?When it comes to dealing with a mercurial and belligerent U.S. president, Mark Carney still enjoys a fair amount of leeway and benefit of the doubt from the Canadian public. Given the importance of opening this new bridge, coupled with Trump’s abrupt intervention to block that opening, Canadians would likely have been in a forgiving mood for a compromise deal.The National Post newsletter that doesn’t hold back, giving readers the unvarnished truth on media, politics and culture.By signing up, you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of Right? will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againUnder the circumstances, this may well have been the best way forward. But instead of the prime minister levelling with Canadians, we got dishonesty, obfuscation, and a heaping of Trump-like spin.It was Tuesday evening when the particulars of this agreement were quietly posted to the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority. That alone is telling, since a truly favourable deal for Canada would have been heralded and publicized much sooner and much more widely.To be sure, the Americans weren’t exactly shy when it came to boasting about this agreement and what they were able to extract from Canada to facilitate the opening of the bridge.The full text would seem to confirm the American’ claims as well as the earlier reporting which had indicated a conflict between the agreement’s actual details and what Carney was saying publicly. Of course, what Carney was saying publicly also shifted over the span of those ten days.This is all separate from the original Canada-Michigan bridge deal. Under that agreement, Canada would pay the full $6.4 billion cost of the bridge, and then collect the tolls until that debt was paid off. Afterwards, the toll revenue would be split with Michigan.As per this new agreement with the United States, Canada will hand over 50 per cent of net revenues for the first 15 years, after recovering operating costs. That money will go into a fund, which will be controlled by the U.S. government.Two days after that deal was reached, Carney told CTV News that the revenue sharing would only come after Canada’s debt-servicing costs had been factored in. In actuality, the details posted on Tuesday make no mention of Canada recouping such costs.“We are sharing after Canada is paid back,” Carney insisted at the time. “We get the revenues. Then the servicing of the costs of the bridge and paying the debt of the bridge, and then what’s left over, there’s a split of that for 15 years.”His comments in the subsequent days were less clear about that point, which only added to the uncertainty and confusion around the agreement.Now that we have the actual text of the agreement before us, the prime minister needs to come clean with Canadians about why this deal was necessary and why he was not forthright about it in the first place.The story here should have been the blatant American shakedown of Canada over a bridge that was complete and that we had paid for. Instead, the prime minister carelessly and foolishly allowed his own bad instincts to take over, overshadowing Trump’s actions and raising questions about his own judgment and honestyAs we face down new U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods and American demands for further concessions from us, it’s a less than ideal time for the prime minister to erode the trust of Canadians.If indeed circumstances require further compromises from our side in pursuit of a broader trade agreement, we should expect our leaders to explain and defend those trade-offs, not downplay or deny them. How much faith can we now put in any government proclamations about future agreements?In his 2014 autobiography “Mr. Hockey,” Gordie Howe himself wrote about how his father taught him “not to take dirt from anyone, because if you do they’ll just keep giving it to you.”That’s probably an apt lesson for Canada’s government and their approach to dealing with the Trump White House. However, it’s also good advice for Canadians and our level of tolerance for misleading government spin on matters of great importance.National PostRob Breakenridge is a Calgary-based podcaster and writer. He can be found at robbreakenridge.ca and reached at rob.breakenridge@gmail.com. Join the Conversation This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.