A bridge too far: Gordie Howe Bridge “delay”
When will Doug Ford stop insulting Donald Trump?
This article was updated October 23rd with the addition of the new tweets from Donald Trump and the Ronald Reagan Foundation at the bottom.
Could Donald Trump possibly be thin-skinned enough to take half a years’ worth of jeering insults by Canada’s leaders be reason to delay the opening of the Gordie Howe Bridge between Windsor and Detroit?
What are the odds that Mark Carney’s “Elbows Up, Canada” program and Doug Ford’s horrific new advertising spot threatening Americans with poverty are the reason the most important infrastructure project in a generation has been delayed?
My guess is 85 per cent. Maybe 95; maybe, given that it’s Donald Trump, 100.
Road Warrior News has been following the progress of the Gordie Howe International Bridge project for years now. Personally, as a born-in-Detroit dual citizen who was part of the Stephen Harper government when our late, great Finance Minster Jim Flaherty and former International Affairs Minister John Baird negotiated the deal-of-the-century with Canada’s largest trading partner, I have long believed that the modern new span represents hope, opportunity and optimism for both nations.
For months, I have been following the “tentative opening dates” on a month-by-month basis, as have thousands of followers on a number of social media groups. Right up until August, September, early October, there did not appear to be any delay threatening the late-October opening ceremonies.
Until just a few days ago, when I was on the phone with one of my favourite Americans who is also very keen to see the bridge open. Neither of us had seen any recent confirmation of the October date.
“Hang on, I’ll check the website,” he offered, and went looking in real-time as we spoke.
“The opening has been delayed!” he exclaimed in dismay. “The target date has been removed from the website!”
A chill went down my spine at his words; I had just viewed Doug Ford’s grim, depressing “Ronald Reagan opposed tariffs ad.” I wondered when I saw it what Donald Trump would think of it; maybe, now we know.
Also ironically, last week I spoke with Paul Kearley, the communications expert I had interviewed for last winter’s “Elbows DOWN, Canada” column and once again, we had both marvelled at how obliviously and unprofessionally Canada’s most senior politicians are behaving.
Could Donald Trump possibly be thin-skinned enough to take half a years’ worth of jeering insults by Canada’s leaders be reason to delay the opening of the most important infrastructure project in a generation?
YES. And if our leaders didn’t see that coming, they don’t deserve to be elected or paid by taxpayers. If our leaders didn’t see this coming, they must not have read “The Art of the Deal,” Trump’s 1987 book in which he clearly lays out his successful negotiating strategies for all the world to read. A major component of his approach is patience and delay.
The Gordie Howe International Bridge is so important to Canadian trade with Americans, the only way Flaherty and Baird could get the deal done in 2012 was to agree that Canada would pay for the entire project and be paid back over time by toll fees once the bridge is opened.
One-quarter of Canada’s trade with its single largest customer, the United States of America, currently crosses between Windsor and Detroit over the Ambassador Bridge: about $300 million per day. It’s hard to imagine a bigger boost to Canada’s economy than getting a second, bigger, better, faster, more technologically advanced border crossing opened.
After all, Justin Trudeau used the Truckers blockade of the Ambassador Bridge during the 2022 COVID protests as his pretext for invoking the Emergencies Act. That’s how important truck traffic between Windsor and Detroit is, Trudeau said at that time.
No one negotiates better than Donald Trump does; no one.
So really, the only question left is: why WOULDN’T he throttle trade and delay the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge, until he gets what he wants from Canada?
OK, there is a second question: why WOULDN’T the elected politicians whose salaries we pay see this coming?
On October 15th, Gordie Howe Bridge spokesperson Heather Grondin confirmed the opening delay to the Windsor Star, although no press release has yet been posted to the project’s website.
“The exact opening date will depend on our ongoing quality reviews, testing and commissioning,” said Grondin, who floated “early 2026” as a possible opening date.
“We also need to give sufficient time for our operating teams and border agencies to be ready to operate this new and modern land border crossing between the U.S. and Canada.”
Road Warrior News wrote to the media office of the Gordie Howe International Bridge project on October 20th to ask whether the delay is in any way connected to Doug Ford’s threatening ad spot, or Mark Carney’s “Elbows Up” campaign. To date, the GHB media team has not replied. However, Donald Trump’s furious tweet October 23rd (below) may be answer enough.
Donald J. Trump Truth Social Post 10:39 PM EST 10/23/25
— Commentary Donald J. Trump Posts From Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) October 24, 2025
The Ronald Reagan Foundation has just announced that Canada has fraudulently used an advertisement, which is FAKE, featuring Ronald Reagan speaking negatively about Tariffs. The ad was for $75,000. They only did this to…
Listen to President Reagan's unedited remarks here: https://t.co/1gQUcbR4eZ pic.twitter.com/iqmjSuypp0
— Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute (@RonaldReagan) October 24, 2025
