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Roads: Ambassador & Gordie Howe Bridges

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Holly Roberts

Trump is threatening to block the Ontario–Michigan bridge until the U.S. is “fully compensated.” Ummmm … compensated for what exactly? CANADA PAID FOR THE BRIDGE, CANADA BUILT IT. CANADA FUNDED IT....
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Perhaps there's a negotiation play that's possible where we pull Canadian investment in the Ambassador Bridge as leverage to get the Americans to open the new bridge? Perhaps just shut the Canadian customs plaza down for some time to stop the flow of American goods into Canada? That could also help to shut down the Ambassador Bridge forever as a vehicular crossing, allowing for the revitalization of West Windsor and granting the Canadian government the monopoly on bridges in Windsor-Detroit.
 
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junctionist said:
Perhaps there's a negotiation play that's possible where we pull Canadian investment in the Ambassador Bridge as leverage to get the Americans to open the new bridge? Perhaps just shut the Canadian customs plaza down for some time to stop the flow of American goods into Canada? That could also help to shut down the Ambassador Bridge forever as a vehicular crossing, allowing for the revitalization of West Windsor and granting the Canadian government the monopoly on bridges in Windsor-Detroit.
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Do you know how many jobs depend on that bridge? You're asking so many workers to lose their job (even if temporarily) to play politics with an insane person. Not everyone / every business may come back if things become too chaotic instead of stable

The 2022 trucker protest was bad enough, and that was only a day of shutdown.

Yes I know Blue Water Bridge exists- but that is a lengthy detour and is already pretty busy. It would cause additional delays which no one is happy about- esp for shipments from Windsor area that need to go around a very long way.
 
Monarch Butterfly said:
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Holly Roberts

Trump is threatening to block the Ontario–Michigan bridge until the U.S. is “fully compensated.” Ummmm … compensated for what exactly? CANADA PAID FOR THE BRIDGE, CANADA BUILT IT. CANADA FUNDED IT....
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Whats that bridge there in the background? I'm sure it has nothing to do with any of this........ ..... .....
 

Morouns ramped up bridge lobbying before Trump’s Gordie Howe threats​

Matthew Moroun, owner of the Ambassador Bridge, has also donated heavily to Republicans​

From https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/trump-gordie-howe-moroun-bridge-lobby-ambassador-ballard-9.7085529

It’s no secret that the Morouns, owners and operators of the nearly 100-year-old Ambassador Bridge connecting Michigan and Ontario, are no fan of the new competing span down the Detroit River.

The billionaire family has spent years — and millions of dollars — fighting the construction of the Gordie Howe International Bridge, which once open will end their monopoly on commercial truck toll revenue in the area.
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But an analysis of U.S. federal lobbying and campaign finance data sheds fresh light on how the family has sought to influence the political landscape around the busiest land border crossing between the U.S. and Canada.

Those efforts have drawn renewed scrutiny this week after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to block the opening of the more than $6-billion bridge that the Canadian government paid for in full, further inflaming tensions between the two countries.

On Tuesday, the New York Times reported that Trump’s social media broadside came just hours after Michigan trucking titan Matthew Moroun, chairman of the company that oversees the Ambassador Bridge, met with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in Washington — and that Lutnick then spoke to the president by phone.

Neither Moroun nor the White House immediately responded to requests for comment from CBC News. CBC has not independently confirmed the New York Times report.
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Bridge hires Trump-connected lobbying firm​

Matthew Moroun is the chairman of the Detroit International Bridge Company. The company owns and runs the Ambassador Bridge, and the Canadian Transit Company operates the Canadian half of the bridge.

In the summer, the bridge company revived its working relationship with Ballard Partners, a top lobbying firm in Trump’s Washington with deep ties to his administration — including his chief of staff, Susie Wiles, a former Ballard partner.

The firm first registered to lobby on behalf of the bridge company in the spring of 2018 — months before construction officially kicked off on the nearby Gordie Howe bridge. During the first Trump administration, the company would pay Ballard at least $2.5 million US to lobby on transportation regulation and “issues related to construction and operation of international bridges,” according to disclosure reports.
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The amount is more than the bridge company had ever spent in previous years on other lobbyists.
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Morouns make sizeable contributions to Republicans​

Matthew Moroun and his wife have been frequent donors to Republican candidates, political action committees, and congressional campaign arms over the years.

He hasn’t always supported Trump, though. In 2023, Moroun gave $236,800 US to Never Back Down Inc., a super PAC supporting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ bid for the Republican presidential nomination.

But Moroun’s support of the party didn’t end with DeSantis’ eventual withdrawal from the race. In July, roughly a month before Ballard started lobbying for the bridge company again, Moroun gave the Republican National Committee a total of $250,000 US, according to Federal Election Commission data.

The three payments dated July 8, 2025, each included different memos: A $44,300 donation was listed as a “contribution,” a $72,800 donation was listed as a “headquarters account contribution,” and $132,900 donation was listed as a “legal proceedings account contribution.”

It’s unclear to which legal proceedings the memo refers, but Trump in 2024 reportedly struck a joint fundraising agreement with the Republican National Committee to funnel donations to his campaign and a PAC that has paid his hefty legal fees.
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robmausser said:
Whats that bridge there in the background? I'm sure it has nothing to do with any of this........ ..... .....
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That's the 1920s Mouron-owned Ambassador Bridge - though maybe the location looks too far upstream - the wrong side of Downtown Detroit.

The new Donald Trump King of North America Memorial Bridge is in the foreground (perhaps I'm getting ahead of things a bit)
 
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2.3K views · 92 reactions | You don’t have to be American or Canadian to see what is happening with the Gordie Howe International Bridge for what it truly is: a stark demonstration of how influence, money and strategic interests can override fairness

You don’t have to be American or Canadian to see what is happening with the Gordie Howe International Bridge for what it truly is: a stark demonstration of how influence, money and strategic...
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You don’t have to be American or Canadian to see what is happening with the Gordie Howe International Bridge for what it truly is: a stark demonstration of how influence, money and strategic interests can override fairness, cooperation and common sense. The Gordie Howe Bridge, a six lane international crossing linking Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario, was financed almost entirely by Canada at a cost of roughly 4.7 billion dollars, with Canada taking the financial risk because previous U.S. administrations declined to invest federal dollars. Canada also agreed under longstanding agreements that the bridge would be jointly owned by the Canadian government and the State of Michigan, financed by tolls over time. This is not a vanity project. It is the most consequential infrastructure connection on the northern border in a generation, relieving chronic congestion, lowering trade costs, boosting supply chains and creating mutual economic benefits for both countries. And yet, the U.S. president has taken the extraordinary step of threatening to block its opening unless Canada agrees to terms that give the United States at least half ownership and greater control, even though Canada already paid for it and the ownership structure was agreed years ago. What makes this more than just political theatre is who stood to gain from blocking the bridge. For decades, the Moroun family, a billionaire dynasty that owns the Ambassador Bridge, the older private crossing nearby that handles a huge share of U.S. Canada trade, has fought the Gordie Howe project tooth and nail. They saw it not as infrastructure for the public good, but as competition threatening to eat into their lucrative toll revenue and tax free fuel concessions. Reports indicate that members of the Moroun family met with key U.S. officials shortly before the president’s social media ultimatum, raising the troubling possibility that private profit played a role in public policy decisions. Make no mistake: when Canada builds something that benefits both sides of the border, fully finances it, honors every agreement and yet is met with ultimatums and threats instead of cooperation, the question is not just about ownership, it is about power and whose interests are actually being served. Is this about fair trade and shared prosperity? Or is it about protecting an entrenched monopoly and manufacturing leverage for unrelated geopolitical bargaining? And while some try to spin this as putting America first, the reality for millions on both sides of the border is simple: Blocking the Gordie Howe Bridge hurts ordinary workers, manufacturers, truckers, farmers and families who depend on fluid trade and stable supply chains. Cutting off progress because of political posturing or billionaire influence is not leadership, it is obstruction. Infrastructure should not be a bargaining chip. People’s livelihoods should not be collateral. Promises made years ago should not be rewritten on a whim. This bridge was built with vision, cooperation and shared interest, and the world should see this moment for what it is: a test of whether leaders will choose people over profit, and partnership over political leverage.
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Haljackey said:
Do you know how many jobs depend on that bridge? You're asking so many workers to lose their job (even if temporarily) to play politics with an insane person. Not everyone / every business may come back if things become too chaotic instead of stable

The 2022 trucker protest was bad enough, and that was only a day of shutdown.

Yes I know Blue Water Bridge exists- but that is a lengthy detour and is already pretty busy. It would cause additional delays which no one is happy about- esp for shipments from Windsor area that need to go around a very long way.
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As you can see from Monarch Butterfly's posts, the Ambassador Bridge's owners are very effective lobbyists, and they're only in it for themselves. Everyone else can suffer. The important thing is that their bridge keeps printing money. As such, any leverage over the bridge owner can help the government in this dispute. Why not reduce just staffing on the Canadian side of the customs plaza significantly?

Not everyone needs to use the Ambassador Bridge. Some can go through the Niagara bridges; some can use the Windsor tunnel; and some can use the Blue Water Bridge. Perhaps the Canadian government could also help revive the Detroit truck ferry.
 
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