US President Donald Trump has threatened to block the opening of a new bridge connecting the United States and Canada, marking a fresh escalation in his criticism of the neighbouring country, which he has previously suggested should become the 51st US state.
Trump said the United States should own “at least half” of the still under-construction Gordie Howe International Bridge, which links the Canadian province of Ontario with the US state of Michigan.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump accused Canada of treating the United States “unfairly” and claimed it was “not compensating enough.” He wrote, “As everyone knows, the Country of Canada has treated the United States very unfairly for decades. Now, things are turning around for the U.S.A., and FAST! But imagine, Canada is building a massive bridge between Ontario and Michigan. They own both the Canada and the United States side and, of course, built it with virtually no US content.”
He further warned that he would prevent the bridge from opening unless Canada entered negotiations with the United States and provided what he described as adequate compensation for what the US “has given them.”
“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,” Trump wrote in the Truth Social post.
He then added that the United States would “start negotiations, IMMEDIATELY.”
The Republican president also reiterated his complaint that Canada owned both sides of the bridge and had used “virtually” no US products in its construction.
He wrote, “As everyone knows, the country of Canada has treated the United States very unfairly for decades. Now, things are turning around for the USA, and FAST! But imagine, Canada is building a massive bridge between Ontario and Michigan. They own both the Canada and the United States side and, of course, built it with virtually no U.S. content.”
Work on the $4.7 billion bridge, named after late Canadian-born National Hockey League great Gordie Howe, began in 2018, and the project is expected to open later this year.
According to a factsheet issued by the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority, the bridge was financed entirely by Canada and will be jointly owned by the governments of Canada and the state of Michigan.
Trump also criticised Canada’s broader foreign policy direction, writing, “And now, on top of everything else, Prime Minister (Mark) Carney wants to make a deal with China -- which will eat Canada alive. We'll just get the leftovers! I don't think so.”
His remarks come amid heightened tensions after Washington threatened to impose 100 per cent tariffs on Canada following Carney’s visit to Beijing last month, where a preliminary trade agreement with China was announced.
The US leader also repeated the claim that Beijing would “terminate ALL Ice Hockey being played in Canada,” a statement widely dismissed by critics.
This is not the first time Trump has voiced dissatisfaction with trade arrangements between the two countries. Last month, during his address at the 56th Annual Summit of the World Economic Forum in Davos, he said Canada “gets a lot of freebies” from Washington and suggested that the country did not show sufficient gratitude.
Since returning to the office in January 2025, Trump has repeatedly clashed with Canada over trade issues. He had earlier called for the United States to annexe Canada, though he has largely stepped back from that claim in recent months.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, meanwhile, warned at the Davos forum that the US-led global system of governance is undergoing “a rupture,” in what was widely interpreted as a veiled reference to Trump’s policies, while calling for mid-level powers to work more closely together.