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Date: 2025-08-22 Page is: DBtxt003.php txt00028727
IMPRESSIVE NEW BRIDGE
A VERY SMART INVESTMENT

Canada’s Gordie Howe Bridge is costing an estimated $4.79 BILLION
Predictions that the new bridge will be a catastrophic economic
disaster as a result of Trump’s Trade War are likely wrong


Original article: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOE8bJbFuQU
$4.79 BILLION Disaster! Canada’s Gordie Howe Bridge Doomed to Be a Ghostly Ruin in Trump’s Trade War

Electric

Jun 16, 2025

213K subscribers ... 153,478 views ... 2.2K likes

The Gordie Howe International Bridge, a $4.79 billion Canadian-funded project set to open in fall 2025, was meant to revolutionize trade between the U.S. and Canada, replacing the outdated Ambassador Bridge.

Designed to streamline $760 billion in annual commerce, particularly for the auto industry, the six-lane, 1.5-mile bridge promised faster crossings and $1.5 billion in savings over 30 years. However, the Trump administration’s proposed 25% tariffs on Canadian cars and parts threaten to derail this vision, turning the bridge into a potential .white elephant.

The tariffs, labeled an “economic attack,” disrupt the deeply integrated North American auto supply chain, where parts cross the border multiple times during production. Canada’s retaliatory tariffs have sparked a full-blown trade war, with factory shutdowns, like Stellantis’ Windsor plant, and looming job losses fueling anger in border cities like Windsor and Detroit.

Economists warn that reduced trade could slash the bridge’s projected $70 million annual toll revenue, jeopardizing Canada’s massive investment.

Prime Minister Mark Carney calls the U.S. move a “betrayal,” while experts predict widespread economic fallout, from farmers to manufacturers, as trade slows. As diplomatic talks falter, the bridge—once a symbol of unity—risks becoming a costly monument to a fractured partnership, with both nations facing devastating losses in this self-inflicted trade war.

Can Canada salvage its dream, or will the Gordie Howe Bridge stand empty, a haunting reminder of broken trust?

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Peter Burgess COMMENTARY

I am not impressed with the leadership of Donald Trump. While he has a lot of 'power', he has a very small brain!

I am 85 years old and have crossed paths with a lot of seniot managers who had 'Trump like' characteristics.

I have been interested in bridges from well before my college days. I think it was the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol that first got me interested ... and the rest is history.

The new bridge in Canada is impressive engineering and the economics are likely better than are being projected, especially in the current Trump induced economic turmoil.

I have been tasked during my career with analysis to project the future use of bridges before they are built. There are no data points for future traffic ... just predictions that may or may not come to pass. Not surprisingly many bridges that join two well populated areas turn out to attract more traffic than projected.

My guess is that the new Gordie Howe bridge will be a huge success sooner rather than later! I hope I am right!

Peter Burgess
Transcript
  • 0:00
  • this is one of the busiest commercial
  • crossing in North America about $400
  • million of goods crosses the border
  • every day you know so it's a lifeline
  • and this bridge almost didn't happen
  • that's because the billionaire family
  • that owns that bridge over there the
  • Ambassador Bridge tried for years to
  • stop it dear Mr president even running a
  • TV ad in 2018 asking then President
  • Trump to cancel it revoke that
  • presidential permit at the Gordy How
  • International Bridge crews are working
  • to wrap up construction there work is
  • into the final stages the bridge is set
  • to open later this year but there are
  • still plenty of hurdles to clear before
  • the new span can welcome crossber
  • traffic the Gordy How International
  • Bridge a $4.79 billion marvel set to
  • open in fall 2025 was envisioned as a
  • beacon of seamless trade between Canada
  • and the United States spanning the
  • Detroit River this six-lane cablestate
  • bridge was designed to replace the aging
  • privatelyowned Ambassador Bridge a Great
  • Depression era structure struggling
  • under the weight of facilitating roughly

  • 1:00
  • 25% of the $760 billion in annual trade
  • between the two nations yet as the grand
  • opening approaches the bridge faces a
  • looming crisis proposed 25% US tariffs
  • on Canadian cars and auto parts
  • announced by the Trump administration
  • threatened to transform this symbol of
  • economic unity into a bridge to nowhere
  • a costly monument to a fractured
  • partnership this escalating trade war
  • coupled with Canada's retaliatory
  • tariffs risks turning a bold investment
  • into a financial disaster raising
  • questions about whether Ottawa can
  • salvage its vision or if the Gordy How
  • Bridge was always a risky dream for
  • decades the Ambassador Bridge has been a
  • critical yet problematic link in North
  • American trade handling nearly $200
  • billion in annual commerce it has long
  • been plagued by congestion delays and
  • outdated infrastructure built in 1929
  • the bridge struggles to cope with the
  • pressure of modern demands creating
  • bottlenecks that slow the movement of
  • goods particularly for the automotive
  • industry where just in time delivery is
  • crucial the Gordy How Bridge was

  • 2:01
  • conceived as the solution a modern
  • publiclyowned crossing designed to
  • streamline trade and strengthen economic
  • ties stretching nearly 1.5 miles the
  • Gordy How Bridge boasts six lanes
  • dedicated truck routes and direct
  • connections to Interstate 75 in Michigan
  • and Highway 401 in Ontario equipped with
  • state-of-the-art customs facilities it
  • promised to cut crossing times by 20
  • minutes saving truckers an estimated
  • $1.5 billion over 30 years for the auto
  • industry where parts crisscrossed the
  • border multiple times during production
  • this efficiency was critical the bridge
  • was not just infrastructure it was
  • Canada's bold bet on a future of
  • frictionless trade in a daring financial
  • move Canada agreed to fund the entire
  • $4.79 billion project banking on toll
  • revenues initially projected at $70
  • million annually to recoup the
  • investment i think it will become an
  • icon for the city even symbolic of a
  • unique relationship it speaks to the

  • 3:02
  • ability for us to connect vulturally
  • and economically on both sides even
  • though we pretend that there isn't that
  • connection sometimes the bridge
  • symbolized optimism a testament to the
  • deep economic integration between the US
  • and Canada particularly in the
  • automotive sector which accounts for a
  • significant portion of their shared $760
  • billion in trade but as the bridge nears
  • completion a storm brews across the
  • border threatening to unravel this
  • vision the Trump administration's
  • reported 25% tariffs on Canadian-made
  • cars and auto parts have sent shock
  • waves through Ottawa Windsor Detroit and
  • beyond described as a direct attack on
  • the integrated US Canada auto industry
  • the tariffs target a sector that relies
  • on seamless crossber supply chains the
  • White House has cited national security
  • trade imbalances and job repatriation as
  • justifications but critics dismissed
  • these as flimsy excuses for economic
  • aggression flavio Vulpi head of Canada's

  • 4:01
  • Auto Parts Manufacturers Association
  • called the tariffs economic destruction
  • warning of severe consequences for
  • workers and consumers on both sides the
  • North American auto industry is uniquely
  • interdependent a single vehicle's
  • components may cross the US Canada
  • border six to eight times during
  • production an engine block might be cast
  • in Michigan machined in Ontario
  • assembled in Ohio and installed in a car
  • in Windsor this just in time system
  • honed over decades depends on
  • tariff-free trade under agreements like
  • the USMCA a 25% tariff on each border
  • crossing would significantly inflate
  • costs rendering North American
  • automakers less competitive globally
  • it's like shoving a tree into the engine
  • said Dr peter Hall a supply chain expert
  • at the University of Windsor it shows a
  • deliberate misunderstanding of how this
  • system works the impact is already
  • visible stalantis a major automaker in
  • the Windsor Detroit corridor has halted
  • production at its Windsor assembly plant
  • citing supply chain disruptions caused
  • by the tariffs imposed by the United
  • States thousands of Canadian workers

  • 5:01
  • face potential layoffs and the mood in
  • Windsor a city whose economy is heavily
  • reliant on auto manufacturing and
  • crossber trade is a volatile mix of fear
  • and anger lana Payne president of Unifor
  • Canada's largest private sector union
  • condemned the tariffs as outrageous
  • arguing that labeling Canadian auto
  • workers a national security threat is
  • both insulting and absurd canada has not
  • taken the tariffs lying down under Prime
  • Minister Mark Carney who inherited the
  • Bridge Project from Justin Trudeau's
  • government ottawa swiftly imposed
  • retaliatory tariffs on US goods 'this
  • one-sided unfair and frankly rude move
  • by the US is a betrayal of our North
  • American partnership,' Carney declared
  • in a national address his tone
  • reflecting the gravity of the crisis
  • 'canada's counter measures target a
  • range of American products escalating
  • tensions into a full-blown trade war
  • that neither side desires but both seem
  • unable to avoid the Gordy How Bridge
  • once a symbol of unity now stands as a
  • stark reminder of broken trust 'we built
  • a bridge for a partner and they answered

  • 6:01
  • by building a wall of tariffs,' a
  • Canadian trade official told CBC News
  • speaking anonymously 'the bridge's
  • promise of smoother faster trade now
  • feels like a hollow pledge amid rising
  • economic hostilities factories on both
  • sides of the border are reeling with US
  • parts manufacturers in Michigan and the
  • Midwest bracing for the impact of
  • Canada's retaliatory tariffs the
  • interconnected economies of Windsor and
  • Detroit long a model of crossber
  • collaboration are now at the forefront
  • of this conflict the Gordy How Bridge
  • was built with the auto industry in mind
  • but the industry's current turmoil
  • raises serious questions about the
  • project's viability economists warned
  • that if trade volumes plummet due to
  • tariffs the bridgeg's projected toll
  • revenues could fall far short of the $70
  • million annually needed to justify
  • Canada's investment dr emily Carter a
  • prominent economist stated in a widely
  • circulated report 'The assumption of
  • robust crossber auto trade was a fantasy
  • if trade collapses Canada may not
  • recover its investment for decades if
  • ever without the anticipated traffic the

  • 7:01
  • Gordy How Bridge risks becoming a white
  • elephant an expensive underused
  • structure symbolizing a shattered dream
  • of US Canada cooperation the irony is
  • palpable canada funded the bridge to
  • facilitate trade that the US now seeks
  • to stifle.' Prime Minister Carney in a
  • somber op-ed lamented 'This bridge was
  • meant to drive prosperity now it risks
  • becoming a costly lesson in trusting a
  • neighbor who can turn hostile
  • overnight.' The situation also casts a
  • shadow on the Ambassador Bridge long
  • criticized for its owner's reluctance to
  • invest in maintenance despite reaping
  • massive profits the aging bridge was
  • meant to be overshadowed by Gordy How's
  • modern efficiency yet if tariffs
  • crossber trade both bridges could see
  • reduced traffic further eroding the
  • economic case for the new crossing
  • conversely some speculate that the
  • Ambassador bridg's established role
  • might give it an edge if trade slows to
  • a trickle though this seems unlikely
  • given the broader economic fallout the
  • tariff's impact extends beyond the auto
  • sector the Gordy How Bridge was designed
  • to carry a wide range of goods including

  • 8:00
  • agricultural products manufactured items
  • raw materials and consumer goods between
  • Ontario and the US Midwest if Canada's
  • retaliatory tariffs and potential US
  • counter tariffs expand to other sectors
  • crossber trade could grind to a halt
  • canadian farmers manufacturers and
  • resource exporters already grappling
  • with global economic challenges face a
  • potential crushing blow according to the
  • Canadian Chamber of Commerce these
  • tariffs are a disease said the Chambers
  • head left unchecked they'll poison the
  • entire economy the ripple effects could
  • devastate communities far beyond Windsor
  • job losses reduced business investment
  • and supply chain disruptions threaten to
  • undermine Canada's economic stability in
  • the US states such as Michigan Ohio and
  • New York which heavily rely on trade
  • with Canada face similar risks the
  • interconnected nature of North American
  • trade means that pain on one side of the
  • border quickly spreads to the other as
  • of June 2025 diplomatic efforts are
  • underway to diffuse the crisis canadian
  • officials are reportedly in constant
  • contact with Washington urging
  • exemptions or the complete removal of

  • 9:00
  • the tariffs business groups from
  • automakers to farmers are lobbying
  • politicians on both sides warning of
  • catastrophic job losses and irreparable
  • economic damage pressure is mounting on
  • US lawmakers in trade dependent states
  • but the Trump administration's history
  • of using tariffs as a political tool
  • complicates negotiations we beg both
  • governments to step back before it's too
  • late read a joint statement from US and
  • Canadian business groups no one wins in
  • a trade war between nations so
  • interdependent yet with political
  • posturing overshadowing economic reason
  • a resolution remains elusive the Gordy
  • How Bridge a 4.79 billion testament to
  • Canada's faith in North American unity
  • now teeters on the edge of irrelevance
  • once a dream of boundless prosperity it
  • risks becoming a tragic monument to a
  • fractured alliance a heartbreaking white
  • elephant born of a self-inflicted trade
  • war with Canada's biggest bet hanging in
  • the balance the question remains is
  • there hope for salvation or is the Gordy
  • How dream doomed


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