Canada cuts ribbon without U.S. officials after tariff
Traffic begins flowing Monday across the Gordie Howe International Bridge, a multibillion-dollar span connecting Detroit and Windsor, Ontario. The bridge will serve as a critical route for trade, jobs and tourism.
Canada celebrated the bridge’s completion with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Windsor on Friday. U.S. and Michigan representatives, who had been expected to attend, were uninvited after President Donald Trump announced a 50% tariff on Canadian goods entering the United States, according to the Associated Press.
More than 70% of Canada’s exports go to the United States, making it Canada’s largest trading partner, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Detroit is the busiest port for truck traffic on the U.S.-Canada border, the department said.
The bridge is named for Gordie Howe, a Canadian hockey legend known as “Mr. Hockey” who wore No. 9 while playing for the Detroit Red Wings on the other side of the Detroit River. Howe died in 2016.