The President of the United States, Donald Trump, threatened to block the inauguration of the bridge being built to connect Canada to the United States. According to him, the blockage would be maintained until Canada “fully compensates” the United States “for all that we have granted them and [until] Canada treats the United States with the justice and the respect we deserve,” Trump said.
“Canada has been treating the United States very unfairly for decades,” the president wrote on his Truth Social network on Monday night (the 9th), without illustrating the alleged imbalance in the relationship between the two countries.
The Gordie Howe International Bridge was financed by the Canadian government, but will belong to both governments, in accordance with the 2012 agreement that established the project. Trump, however, claims that Canada benefited from an exemption that allowed Canadians not to be required to use American-made products in the construction.
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On Tuesday (10), the Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, said he had a “positive” conversation with Trump and stated that he reminded him that Canada bore the costs of the bridge. He also reportedly highlighted to the American president that workers from both countries participated in the construction and that steel originating from both sides was used.
“This is a great example of cooperation between our countries and I look forward to its inauguration,” Carney told journalists. The bridge will connect the Canadian province of Ontario to the American state of Michigan.
Canada-China Agreement
Behind Trump’s anger about the bridge lies the recent rapprochement between Canada and China. In his Truth Social post, the president wrote that China “will eat Canada alive.” “We’ll be left with the scraps! I don’t think so,” he added, making clear his dissatisfaction with the talks between the leaders of the two countries.
He also issued warnings about what he believes to be the impact of Chinese influence, going so far as to say that the Asian country could even ban hockey championships — the most popular sport in Canada — even though there is no concrete indication to this effect.
In January, Mark Carney met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, and the two established a strategic partnership for the commercialization of Chinese electric vehicles in Canada, anticipating tariff reductions and authorization for the entry of a large volume of cars per year into the country.
Discontent with the rapprochement and with the possible influence of China over the neighboring country, Trump has already threatened to impose 100% tariffs on Canadian products if Canada and China sign an agreement.
This is not the first time Trump has attacked the northern neighbor. Since the beginning of his second term, in January 2025, the U.S. president has spoken about annexing Canada and even said that he would turn the country into the 51st American state. The Canadian Prime Minister rejected the threats categorically and stated that the country “is not for sale.”
