The delayed opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge is now an issue in a closely watched Michigan Senate race as a Democrat hopeful blames the pause on U.S. President Donald Trump.
In an ad launched June 24, candidate Mallory McMorrow says Trump won’t open the Gordie Howe Bridge and accuses him of taking money from a billionaire family that owns a competing bridge.
Invitations already had been sent out for a ribbon-cutting event that was supposed to take place June 12 to mark the opening of the $6.4-billion bridge connecting Windsor and Detroit — but the event was cancelled the day before.
The Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority said Canada and the U.S. were attempting to “resolve any outstanding issues.” Prime Minister Mark Carney said it was paused at the request of the United States.
No new date for the opening has been set.
A White House official speaking on background has said U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was leading the charge in the Trump administration on the bridge.
The New York Times reported that Matthew Moroun, whose family owns the competing Ambassador Bridge, met with Lutnick just before Trump issued a social media post in February threatening to block the bridge’s opening if the United States wasn’t compensated.
The Gordie Howe bridge project has long faced heavy pushback from members of the billionaire Moroun family, who are longtime Republican donors.
Federal campaign finance records show Matthew Moroun donated US$1 million to Trump’s super PAC earlier this year.
It all gives Democrats an opportunity to tie Republicans to the delayed opening in an important battleground state ahead of the midterm elections in November.
McMorrow is using the ad to stand out in a three-person Democrat primary race. She acknowledged to The Associated Press that she’s a dark horse candidate.
In the ad, McMorrow stands in front of the bridge and says, “I’m Mallory McMorrow and I have one message for the president: Open this damn bridge.”
The winner of the Democrat nomination is expected to face Republican Mike Rogers, who has argued that if he’s sent to Washington he’ll make sure the bridge is opened.
Trump insisted in February the U.S. would have to be compensated before he would allow the bridge to open. He falsely claimed that the bridge was built with virtually no U.S. content.
In a 2012 deal signed by Rick Snyder, the Republican governor at the time, Canada agreed to shoulder the cost of the bridge’s construction, which it would recoup through tolls. The ownership is shared between the Government of Canada and Michigan.
Trump endorsed the bridge project in 2017 during his first term in office.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 24, 2026. (With files from The Associated Press)
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