U.S. eyes larger share of Gordie Howe Bridge tolls

Bloomberg's reporting today that U .S.Commerce Secretary Howard Lottnick delayed the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge and that the play is to try and get a larger share of the toll revenue for the U .S.Let's go to Ryan Donnelly on this.He's president, CEO of the Windsor -Essex Chamber of Commerce, which is in the area.

Thanks for joining us today.My pleasure.Let's give viewers a bit of a bigger picture first.What does the bridge mean for the people of Windsor?

Well, for Windsor, obviously, it's a very important piece of infrastructure.We have been waiting on this bridge to be built for the past 20 years or so.With a deeply integrated supply chain between Canada and the United States, Ontario and Michigan, and of course, Windsor and Detroit, this is one of our economic lifelines.It's one of our lifebloods.What this means is tens of millions of dollars crossing the border every single day through Windsor into Detroit and vice versa.Obviously, it's a source of jobs, competitive advantage for our two regions.

Yeah, something we're obviously looking forward to being open in the very short future.

Yeah, it was supposed to open earlier this month.That was the delay.Has there been a dollar cost estimate yet to the losses so far for your community?

No, I don't think there's been a loss estimate.I mean, at the end of the day right now, we're still seeing commerce move.The Ambassador Bridge still continues to operate.And of course, the Blue Water Bridge up in Sarnia still is picking up more and more traffic as we speak.You know, what this bridge means is the opportunity for transportation, people, goods to move more efficiently, faster, with less cost.And of course, that's exactly what commerce needs is the efficient movement of people and goods.

What are you hearing from from business owners and those who would benefit from it opening?

Yeah, of course, this is something that we would like to see open.It's something that we've been waiting on, as I mentioned, for four decades now.With that being said, I think everyone in Windsor here and probably across Ontario recognizes thatthis means that we need to wait a little bit longer to ensure that there's a more equitable and profitable trade deal for both sides, and if this is a leverage piece that the U .S.S.government's using in that next iteration of CUSMA negotiations, I think we're prepared to wait.

I mean my job essentially in Windsor -Essex is to represent the voice of business in Windsor -Essex and that doesn't necessarily have to be short -term business or long -term business, it's business interest.So I think I can speak for the majority of our business community saying that if it means we need to delay the opening of this bridge for weeks or months in order for the best possible situation to happen for Canada, I think we're prepared to make that wait.

It's interesting that you mention that, and I was going to ask you what sort of sacrifice would be involved, or are you willing to give up in order for that bridge to be open?So just looking at it from a different way.You mentioned if this gets delayed, it gets delayed weeks or months.That's one thing.What if it gets delayed longer than that?And I ask because it's unlikely that there's going to be some sort of agreement, per se, on this trade deal over a longer period of time.

Correct.I mean, the July 1 date that everybody's been pointing towards for better parts of a year now has been the deadline that everybody thought, you know, Kuzma is going to be renegotiated by that time.You know, everybody thought it was a cliff of some kind.And that's obviously not the case.You know, if you look at the long term relationship between our two countries, Canada and the United States have been deep economic trading partners for decades, and we will continue to be.So this piece of infrastructure is a hundred year piece of infrastructure.

If it means that we have to wait it out months or even longer, so be it, so long as that long -term relationship between our two countries continues.I am very much of the mindset that Canada and the United States, especially Windsor -Essex and Ontario and Michigan, we really need to work this out.Yes, we are currentlyan economic challenging time, but we have deep, deep relationships, both from the economic wise, but also socially, culturally.Windsor -Essex in a lot of ways is a suburb of Detroit, and that's a hometown for a lot of our friends and family.I think that we can wait this out and make sure that we get the best possible trade deal for our country.

And if that means waiting a few extra weeks or months, so be it.

What are you hearing from the other side of that bridge and your partners in place there?

Yeah, similar.I don't want to speak for the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce, but they came out and put a very strong post about the economic relationship between our two cities and our two regions.At the end of the day, everybody looks at this and recognizes that it seems to be a trade negotiation piece, a leverage piece that the U .S.government is trying to use in their negotiation tactics.And that's the job of the U .

S.government, right?Their job is to get the best possible situation or best possible trade deal for their constituents and their residents.Our job in Canada is, you know, Prime Minister Carney to do the best possible job for us.So any time that they can see an opportunity for a piece of leverage, and I believe that this has now become a piece of leverage in the negotiation, they're going to use it.And if that means we have to send a message up to Ottawa that we're willing to wait to make sure that we're in the best possible economic situation for the long run, we're willing to do that.

Given that, do you feel like you're on the same page with Ottawa?

I think we are.I think we are.Yeah, I really do.You know, Windsor -Essex, we are more reliant on the U .S.than most places.

Southern Ontario, obviously, is very connected to the Midwest.But, you know, we are Canadian through and through.And despite having this deep relationship with the United States and the Midwest, you know, we're on the Team Canada approach.So we're willing to support our prime minister, our country, in order to get the best possible deal for our country.And I know that he's got the best interests of all Canadians in mind.

Ryan Donnelly, good to have you and thanks for sharing your time.Ryan is President and CEO of the Windsor -Essex Chamber of Commerce in Ontario.