Traffic is set to start flowing Monday across a new bridge over the Detroit River that will serve as a critical route for trade, jobs and tourism between Canada and the U.S.
Last week, Canada celebrated the Gordie Howe International Bridge with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Windsor, Ontario, to mark the completion of the multibillion-dollar, multiyear project.
U.S. and Michigan representatives were uninvited from Friday’s gathering after President Donald Trump suddenly announced 50% tariffs on Canadian goods entering America.
The bridge is named for Howe, a Canadian icon known as “Mr. Hockey” who wore No. 9 while playing on the other side of the Detroit River for the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings. He died in 2016.
More than 70% of Canada’s exports go to the U.S., making America its largest trade partner, and Detroit is the No. 1 port for truck traffic on the U.S.-Canada border, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
