Canada’s Mark Carney says Trump bridge row will be ‘resolved’

MONTREAL - Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he spoke to Mr Donald Trump on Feb 10 and would resolve a row sparked by the US president’s threats to block a new bridge between the two countries.

Mr Trump said late on Feb 9 that the United States should own “at least half” of the

under-construction Gordie Howe bridge

that links the Canadian province of Ontario with the US state of Michigan.

“I spoke to the president this morning. Regarding the bridge, the situation is going to be resolved,” Mr Carney told reporters in Ottawa without giving details.

“I explained that Canada, of course, paid for the construction of the bridge; that the ownership is shared between the state of Michigan and the government of Canada,” Mr Carney said.

Work on the US$4.7 billion (S$5.95 billion) bridge started in 2018 and it is due to open in 2026.

It is named after late Canadian-born National Hockey League great and Detroit Red Wings star Gordie Howe, in what was meant to be a symbol of unity between Canada and the United States.

But Mr Trump, who has repeatedly suggested that

Canada become the 51st US stat

e, threatened to block the opening of the bridge in a social media post late on Feb 9.

The White House said on Feb 10 it was “just another example of President Trump putting America’s interests first”, adding that Mr Trump “made that very clear in his call with prime minister Carney.”

“The fact that Canada will control what crosses the Gordie Howe bridge and owns the land on both sides is unacceptable to the president,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt told a briefing.

Among other complaints, Mr Trump alleged Canada used “virtually” no US products to build it.

The Canadian premier said he told Mr Trump “there’s Canadian steel, Canadian workers, but also US steel, US workers that were involved” in construction.

Mr Carney did not, however, comment on Mr Trump’s outlandish claim that as a consequence of Canada pursuing a trade deal with China, Beijing would stop Canadians from playing ice hockey.

“The first thing China will do is terminate ALL Ice Hockey being played in Canada, and permanently eliminate The Stanley Cup,” Mr Trump said in his post on Feb 9, referring to the annual NHL trophy.

He did not explain how that would happen. AFP