The Gordie Howe Bridge: We paid for it and now we have to give the Americans half of the toll revenue

By Pepper Parr

July 13th, 2026

BURLINGTON, ON

We are told that the Gordie Howe Bridge will be officially opened on July 27th, now that there is a revised agreement on where the toll money is going to go.

The Conservative Party wants to know just what the changes in the agreement amount to?

It was a good question.  The chances of getting a detailed answer would appear to be pretty slim.

With the House of Commons on summer holidays until September 21st, the bridge will have been operating for more than a month.

The Gordie Howe International Bridge. What a beauty!

In a letter to the Minister handling the discussions with the Trump White House, the Conservatives ask:

What, Exactly, Did Canada Win?

Dear Minister LeBlanc,

Canada paid 100% of the cost of building the Gordie Howe International Bridge in exchange for a promise that we would collect 100% of the tolls until the cost was repaid. We even paid for infrastructure on the American side of the border. We took on the risk and the cost. We deserve to recover our money. That is why we were shocked to learn that you have agreed to give half of the toll profits to the United States, at the expense of Canadian taxpayers. 

Before the bridge opens, Canadians deserve the full agreement, a complete accounting of its costs, and clear answers about what was given away.

Dominic Leblanc

The opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge should be a moment of national pride. This critical crossing will strengthen trade, shorten travel times, and support workers and businesses on both sides of the border. Canadians can take pride in the planners, builders, and taxpayers who delivered it.

Yet your government’s announcement of a July 27 opening raises serious questions about the deal struck with the United States. Canada financed the bridge, its approaches, ports of entry, and the Michigan connection to Interstate 75. Taxpayers assumed the cost and risk. Your announcement, however, speaks vaguely of “cooperative measures” on tolls, American concurrence for certain changes, and a 15-year economic development fund tied to bridge profits—without disclosing the full agreement or its costs to Canadians.

Media reports indicate that half of the bridge’s net profits will now flow to a regional fund, with the United States gaining new authority over toll decisions.  If true, these are extraordinary concessions on an asset built and paid for by Canadians.

Canadians deserve straight answers:

1. 1. 1. 1. Will you immediately release the full agreement, including all amendments, side letters, financial arrangements, and commitments to the United States?
         2. What precisely will be divided: gross toll revenue, operating profit, net profit after expenses, or revenue after Canada has fully recovered its investment?
         3. Will any bridge revenue be transferred, shared, or placed in the economic development fund before Canadian taxpayers recoup the project’s full cost?
         4. What does the government project this 15-year fund will distribute, and how much will be spent in Canada versus the United States?
         5. What new authority has been granted to the United States over toll rates? Can American officials block increases, demand decreases, or otherwise slow Canada’s recovery of its investment?
         6. Did the agreement alter the bridge’s ownership, governance, liabilities, or the original timetable for recovering Canada’s contribution?
         7. What did Canada receive in return—beyond American agreement not to obstruct the opening of a bridge that Canada alone paid to build?

The original Crossing Agreement already provided for cooperation with Michigan after Canada recovered its costs, expected to take decades. Surplus revenues were then to be divided equally, with shared obligations for future shortfalls. Has your government now granted the United States access to profits decades early, without any corresponding contribution to the billions Canada spent?

This cannot be viewed in isolation. Prime Minister Carney was elected promising he could “handle” President Trump, negotiate wins, and secure the best deal for Canada.

Prime Minister Mark Carney promised he could “handle Trump,” “negotiate a win,” and get a deal by “July 21st” of last year. It was all an illusion. A year after his own deadline, what has he accomplished? He has conceded to every one of the President’s demands and gotten nothing in return, except double the tariffs on Canada now applying to more goods. 

He has given away all our bargaining chips without even showing up at the negotiating table. He rightly reversed course on the DST, the Netflix Tax Hike, counter tariffs and defence spending, but failed to use these as bargaining chips to get U.S. tariffs removed in return. Now he appears to have given the U.S. half the toll profits on a bridge for which Canada paid 100% of the cost. 

In the meantime, Canadians want answers. Before the bridge opens on July 27, release the full agreement. Provide Canadians with a complete accounting of what was given away, what was received, and the true cost of this deal.

Prime Minister Carney promised Canadians he would negotiate a win with the United States. What, exactly, did Canada win?

Tough words: questions that had to be asked and have to be answered.