The absence of US. dignitaries was glaringly obvious at the celebration of the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge.
"I wish our American friends were with us too because they were allies, many of them, not the ones that are Trump and his surrogates with all the hate and hostility they have, but the people that saw beauty in the project of actually turning the border into something that would be a benefit to the community," said Brian Masse, former MP for Windsor-West who has been advocating for the new crossing and the community since 1999.
Exactly two years before the official ribbon-cutting ceremony, dignitaries met in the middle of the bridge to celebrate when the two sides met in the middle of the Detroit River.
Now, amid a trade war and new tariffs on Canadian goods, it was decided that Canada would celebrate the opening on their own.
"There's work to do between our officials, between the Prime Minister and President, to resolve that. We felt it inappropriate to have a big joint celebration when we're working through those challenges," said MP Gregor Robertson, Minister of Housing and Infrastructure. "I think we're confident that we're going to work through this; we always do."
Instead of celebrating the bridging of two nations, officials focused on celebrating the workers who took part in the construction and the economic benefits that both countries will see in the future.
"This creates a whole other set of options, especially for trucks to connect from the interstate to the 401 here in Canada. A much more streamlined flow for the heavy traffic of trucks that we see across this very, very busy commercial border," said Robertson.
Based on the newly signed agreement in principle between Canada and the U.S., the bridge will open on July 27, no earlier than noon.
"This is a collaborative relationship, and we've been working on this for decades. The original agreement goes back to 2012 so there's a lot of work done to shape the path forward here. I will emphasise, Canada will be paid back for this bridge over the longer term; it's expected to be over 50 years," said Roberton.
The Canadian government paid $6.4 billion for the construction of the bridge.
The new agreement calls for Canada to provide annual "economic participation payments" equal to half of the net bridge revenues through 2041.
