Donald Trump’s evening Truth Social outburst about a major U.S.–Canada infrastructure project was so riddled with errors that Canada’s prime minister felt compelled to personally walk him through the facts in a phone call.
The latest flare-up centers on the $4.6 billion Gordie Howe International Bridge, a long-planned crossing that will connect Detroit, Michigan, with Windsor, Ontario. In a rambling post Monday night, Trump, 79, accused Canada of cheating the United States by falsely claiming the bridge was entirely Canadian-owned and complained that it was being built with “virtually no U.S. content.”
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, 60, moved quickly to clean up the mess. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Carney confirmed that he had spoken with Trump directly to correct the record. He added in French that the “situation will be resolved” and said that the bridge remains on track to open in 2026.
Trump’s grievance, however, was anything but calm. In his Truth Social post, he framed the project as another example of Canada taking advantage of the U.S., writing that the bridge was being constructed in violation of the Buy American Act and asserting that he would personally block its opening unless Canada agreed to renegotiate terms “IMMEDIATELY.”
As Carney explained, while Canada paid for the construction aspect, ownership of the bridge is shared between the Canadian government and the state of Michigan under an agreement finalized more than a decade ago. The project was approved in 2014, after years of bipartisan support on both sides of the border, and has always been structured as a joint infrastructure effort.
Trump’s claim that the bridge uses no American materials also collapsed after Carney corrected the record. The prime minister said he informed the president that the project includes both materials and workers from both countries. He said bluntly, “Obviously, there’s Canadian steel and Canadian workers, but also U.S. steel, U.S. workers that were involved.”
Despite Trump’s threat to sabotage the bridge opening, Carney showed little concern. He said he expects the bridge to debut as scheduled and called it “a great example of cooperation between our countries,” a line that stood in sharp contrast to Trump’s ultimatum.
Carney said that his call with Trump began with a brief chat about the upcoming U.S.–Canada Olympic hockey matchup before pivoting to the bridge.
Meanwhile, Windsor, Ontario, Mayor Drew Dilkens blasted the president on CNN for putting “forward a number of mistruths in his social media posts talking about no U.S. products being used or U.S. labor.”
Dilkens added, “In fact, half the bridge, the Michigan half, was built with U.S. steel. The port of entry on the U.S. side was built with U.S. steel and U.S. building materials. And of the 15,000 people who helped build this bridge, 8,000 came from the United States, and so to say that somehow the U.S. wasn’t involved and, you know, there has to be some more equity in this, it makes no sense based on the facts.”
Trump’s sudden hostility toward the bridge also clashes with his own earlier position. In 2017, during his first term, Trump publicly supported the project in a joint statement with then–Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, praising the bridge as “a vital economic link between our two countries” and expressing excitement for its “expeditious completion.”
Now, Trump is attempting to distance himself from the project altogether, blaming former President Barack Obama for approving it and claiming Canada used the agreement to sidestep American manufacturing rules.
The blowup also comes amid Trump’s broader fixation on Canada during his second term. He has floated the idea of annexing the country and slapped tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminum, and automobiles.
The move has sparked trade tensions, which Canada has met with its own retaliation. Ontario recently pulled U.S. spirits and wines from government-owned liquor stores, a move Trump complained about directly in his bridge rant. “Ontario won’t even put U.S. spirits, beverages, and other alcoholic products on their shelves,” he wrote.
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