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Donald Trump has threatened to block the opening of a new suspension bridge connecting the US and Canada, escalating tensions between the two neighbours following Ottawa’s threat to bring Chinese EV manufacturers into North America.
The US president wrote on his Truth Social platform on Monday evening that the Gordie Howe International Bridge — which is set to open this year and connects the key auto hubs of Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario — had been built with “virtually no US content”.
“I will not allow this bridge to open until the United States is fully compensated for everything we have given them, and also, importantly, Canada treats the United States with the Fairness and Respect that we deserve,” he wrote.
“We will start negotiations, IMMEDIATELY,” he added. “With all that we have given them, we should own, perhaps, at least one half of this asset.”
Trump’s threat came after the government of Canadian prime minister Mark Carney agreed with China last month to lower tariffs on 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles a year in exchange for Beijing reducing levies on Canadian agricultural products including lobster and canola.
Carney last week also outlined a plan to increase incentives for auto companies that maintain or expand their Canadian manufacturing presence, as Ottawa gears itself up for talks with Washington over renewal of the US-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) free trade agreement, which was agreed during Trump’s first term.
Carney’s deal with Beijing angered the White House and prompted concern among auto executives in Detroit that US car manufacturers would be highly vulnerable to an influx of low-cost Chinese imports.
“If Governor Carney thinks he is going to make Canada a ‘Drop Off Port’ for China to send goods and products into the United States, he is sorely mistaken,” Trump wrote on Truth Social in response to the auto deal.
Carney’s industry minister Mélanie Joly told Bloomberg last week that Ottawa’s plan was for leading Canadian auto parts companies including Magna, Linamar and Martinrea International to partner with Chinese firms to produce EVs in Canada for export.
“We believe that these great Canadian champions can partner with Chinese EV companies to make a Canadian-Chinese car to export it around the world,” said Joly, who met with Chinese automakers BYD and Chery during a visit to China last month.
But in his post threatening to block the opening of the Gordie Howe bridge, which is named after a legendary Canadian winger for the Detroit Red Wings hockey team, Trump warned that China would “eat Canada alive”.
“The first thing China will do is terminate ALL Ice Hockey being played in Canada, and permanently eliminate the The Stanley Cup,” he said, referring to the National Hockey League trophy.
Ottawa is racing to contain the damage to its domestic auto industry resulting from Trump’s auto tariffs, which have encouraged Detroit carmakers General Motors and Stellantis to reduce their manufacturing footprint north of the border.
The US president last year imposed 25 per cent tariffs on vehicles assembled in Canada, which Ottawa soon reciprocated, although both countries’ tariff regimes include exemptions for locally produced parts.
The tariffs accelerated a longer-term trend of US automakers reducing their presence in Canada, in part as a result of high labour costs. According to the Trillium Network for Advanced Manufacturing think-tank, GM, Ford and Stellantis accounted for 23 per cent of the cars produced in Canada in 2025, down from 56 per cent in 2016.
Democratic lawmakers in Washington are attempting to overturn Trump’s levies on Canada this week. However, it is unclear whether they will succeed as the Republican party has a majority in the House of Representatives.
Carney, who has also announced he is repealing his country’s electric vehicle mandate and replacing it with tightened fuel emission restrictions, said last week: “Canada continues to favour a zero-tariff regime with the United States in autos because we know that will deliver the strongest North American auto industry.”
“But if the US, through the [USMCA] review, insists on some form of auto tariffs, we’ll ensure that companies that sell vehicles in Canada are strongly incentivised to produce in Canada.”
Carney said on Tuesday that he had spoken to Trump and explained that the Canadian government had spent C$4bn on the Gordie Howe bridge, which is co-owned by Canada and the state of Michigan and built by Canadian and American workers with both Canadian and US steel.
“This is a great example of co-operation between our countries,” said Carney, noting the two countries’ women’s ice hockey teams were due to face off at the Winter Olympics on Tuesday.
“It’s a big game today — and we’re going to win,” he said.
Additional reporting by Ilya Gridneff in Toronto