Fact-checking Prime Minister Carney on Gordie Howe Bridge deal

The Gordie Howe Bridge is finally set to go into operation this Friday after being blocked by U.S. President Donald Trump from opening over the past month. The president abruptly stopped the planned opening in June, insisting the U.S. government should own half of the new bridge and receive at least half of the toll revenue—despite Canadian taxpayers footing the entire $6.4 billion construction costs and the original agreement only offering a 50-50 split of bridge revenues after the debt in building the bridge was repaid to Canadian governments. In response, Prime Minister Mark Carney said “no big drama” was happening in the discussions to revise the deal, and, in the lead-up to the new deal with the U.S., told reporters that his government wasn’t willing to budge much from the initial agreement. “I think we’re willing to clarify aspects of the current arrangements,” Carney said on July 9. What Carney claimed about the new agreement A revised deal was announced the following day, on July 10, where it was reported by the Globe and Mail and many other mainstream outlets that a portion of the toll revenues would go to a development fund controlled by the Americans to be spent on investments in the region on the U.S. side. The government press release left the new agreement’s details vague, stating “a series of cooperative measures focused on toll governance and transparency, as well as investments in the region, including through the establishment of a 15-year economic development fund tied to a portion of profits from bridge operations.” With the Carney government not disclosing the details of the new revenue-sharing agreement, the prime minister was asked repeatedly what had changed from the initial agreement. “The word ‘net’ does a lot of work in this,” Prime Minister Carney said to CTV on July 12 while at the Calgary Stampede, when a revised agreement had been hammered out. “We are sharing after Canada is paid back.” Carney added at the time, “We get the revenues. Then the servicing of the costs of the bridge and paying the debt of the bridge, and then what’s left over, there’s a split of that for 15 years.” “There’s not going to be a lot of net to split,” Carney added in the same interview. The prime minister doubled down on his claim that Canada would first get paid back for the eight-year construction costs of the Gordie Howe Bridge before sharing net profits from the bridge with the U.S. last week at a press conference on July 17. “Let me start with what [the deal] isn’t. It isn’t splitting the tolls of the bridge. It is an agreement for 15 years to split net revenues. Splitting of tolls, any sharing of toll revenue won’t happen until all of the debt is repaid,” he said at the press conference last Thursday. Carney government narrative unravels By last weekend, the true changes to the initial deal were leaked to the Wall Street Journal, revealing that net revenues—what’s left after operational costs are covered—would in fact now be split evenly between Michigan and Canada over the next 15 years, with Canada no longer receiving 100 percent of the profits until the loan is paid off. On Tuesday, amid mounting pressure, the Liberal government finally released the details of the agreement for the cable-stayed bridge, which is now one of the longest in North America. Besides capitulating on President Trump’s demand of at least half of the revenue going to the U.S. without the loan being repaid, Washington can also veto changes to toll charges. When CTV asked the PMO why Carney’s previous claims contradicted the terms of the actual deal, a spokesperson sidestepped the question and instead called it a “good deal for businesses and workers in the region.” Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre responded by reciting some of the prime minister’s own words and how their discrepancy with the revised agreement. “This [agreement] is the exact opposite of what you said,” Poilievre wrote in an X post. “After such a contradiction, how can Canadians trust you on anything related to your dealings with the United States?” Poilievre followed that by asking his followers if Carney made claims he knew were false or if he actually didn’t know the details of the deal his government signed. The Conservatives had previously tried to force the Carney government to release the details through Parliament. The bridge’s opening will now proceed under a fresh trade dispute. On Monday, the White House indicated Trump would sign a new executive order hitting certain Canadian products with 50 per cent tariffs in 30 days. In response, the federal government said Canada and the U.S. would no longer hold a joint celebration to mark the opening. Canadian officials will instead mark the milestone “among Canadians,” with a Friday event for local dignitaries ahead of Monday’s opening to traffic. Whatever the terms of the revenue split, the economic case for the crossing itself is not in dispute. The Windsor-Detroit corridor handles more than four million truck crossings and nearly $70 billion in two-way trade annually, with the neighbouring Ambassador Bridge alone carrying roughly $323 million worth of goods per day. The new six-lane span is expected to handle 400 commercial crossings per hour, and a 2021 Cross-Border Institute report projected it would save about 850,000 hours in truck border-crossing times annually—translating into billions of dollars in economic savings over the crossing’s service life. The Gordie Howe Bridge is set to open after delays caused by U.S. President Trump’s demands for revenue sharing. Prime Minister Mark Carney initially claimed Canada would retain all profits until construction costs were repaid, but the revised agreement now splits net revenues with the U.S. over 15 years. This change has led to criticism from opposition leaders, questioning the government’s transparency and trustworthiness. Despite the controversy, the bridge is expected to enhance trade efficiency in the Windsor-Detroit corridor, which is vital for both economies. What are the implications of the Gordie Howe Bridge deal for Canada-U.S. relations? How might the revised revenue-sharing agreement impact Canadian taxpayers? What economic benefits are expected from the Gordie Howe Bridge's operation? Comments (0)