In All Decency and Fairness, Mr. Trump!

"We're at the point where we're saying enough is enough."

"If we're going to have a delay [in opening] the Gordie Howe bridge, great, then you know what the city wants? We want to make sure that we're collecting enough money to help refill our coffers, make taxpayers whole, and not leave taxpayers on the hook for these expenses, which are atypical for any municipality to have to deal with."

"It's just another chapter in the saga of seeing this new bridge built, where you have the president of the United States saying 'We're not going to open it'. He throws out some arbitrary conditions. And then two days later, it's reported that Mr. Moroun met with Secretary Lutnick, who called the president. And several minutes later, a Truth Social post was put out. And it just picks at the scab that's there."

Windsor, Ontario Mayor Drew Dilkins 

Traffic on Huron Church Road heads away from the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor on Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023. Photo by Taylor Campbell /Windsor Star

 

The privately owned Ambassador Bridge linking Canada to the United States for travel and trade to and from each country has operated a monopoly for decades. The Lebanese-American family that owns the bridge had spent a fortune in unsuccessfully opposing the building of a new bridge that would cut into its profits. Plans for a new bridge, entirely funded by Canadian taxpayers proceeded for the purpose of a second traffic link between Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan. The bridge, named after Canada's hockey legend, Gordie Howe, was funded entirely by Canada, although both Canadian and American labour and steel went into its building.

 

Underhanded activity on the part of the private-interest Ambassador Bridge failed to stop the Gordie Howe Bridge from being built, posing a competitor in the collection of traffic tolls. Whereas the tolls charged by the Ambassador Bridge company is destined for the bank accounts of the bridge owner, Matthew Moroun, all tolls collected when the new bridge opens will pay for the astronomical $6.4 billion cost of the bridge. After which, toll proceeds are to be divided between Windsor and Detroit, with a joint ownership agreement.

 

On February 9, President Trump threatened to block the bridge opening, until the U.S. "is fully compensated for everything it has given Canada". Well, in this particular instance, the U.S. gave Canada nothing; it was the reverse that was the reality. The Ambassador Bridge is North America's busiest and as a result, most toll-lucrative crossing for commercial truck traffic. For every day that the new bridge remains closed Windsor is exposed to and liable for traffic congestion and damage to roads for which repairs come at a cost to Windsor taxpayers. 

"Windsor is the auto capital of Canada. Detroit is the Motor City. We've built some great things together. We want to keep that ball rolling and make sure that we create good jobs in both countries for the benefit of both of our economies, and we hope that we never get to a point where tolling is required."

"But if the Gordie Howe Bridge isn't going to open as a result of a decision by President Trump, all options are on the table on our side."

Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens 

Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens is shown near the Ambassador Bridge on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026. Photo by Dan Janisse /The Windsor Star

 

Which has led to the Windsor mayor asking the province of Ontario for an exemption to section 40 of the Municipal Act, preventing municipalities from imposing their own tolls on highways, bridges or tunnels unless they have specific provincial approval. This would be a temporary assist to Windsor, until the opening of the Gordie Howe Bridge on May 1. The city of Windsor spends millions annually on the main thoroughfare leading from the Ambassador Bridge, a result of some 10,000 trucks using it each and every day in cross-border traffic. 

 

The city has had to contend with the owner of the Ambassador Bridge expecting Windsor to repair roads  that its own bridge traffic wears out, while it retains the revenues it collects from their use of the bridge. "It's several million dollars to repair that roadway. It's a concrete roadway. It supports heavy trucks, and again, another few million dollars to fix that roadway", on top of the millions to fix other parts of the road as well as millions spent in other disputes with the Ambassador Bridge company.

 

According to a report in The New York Times, the post that President Trump put out on his social media site came in the immediate wake of a meeting between U.S. secretary of commerce Howard Lutnick, and Matthew Moroun, owner of the Ambassador Bridge. Also reported by The Times was that Moroun had donated $1 million in January to the MAGA Inc. super PAC.

  

Ontario Premier Doug Ford will 'consider' Windsor's request to levy tolls on trucks coming from and going to the Ambassador Bridge along Huron Church Road during any delays in opening Gordie Howe International Bridge. Shown here, a truck carrying Windsor-built Chrysler Pacifica minivans is shown among traffic on Huron Church Road in Windsor heading to the Ambassador Bridge on Thursday, March 5, 2026. Photo by Dan Janisse /The Windsor Star

"Why are we continuing to spend millions of dollars in support of these endeavours [pressed by the American private owners of the Ambassador Bridge company to repair Windsor-area roads for their profit] at municipal expense when we have no revenue coming in from it?"

"There's no revenue stream derived from this. It's all expense to municipal taxpayers." 

Mayor Drew Dilkins