Gordie Howe bridge deal appears to contradict Carney’s description of pact with U.S.

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In a bid to open the Gordie Howe bridge, Canada has agreed to send the United States half of net revenues and granted Washington veto power over some toll rate changes, according to the text of the agreement, which was released late Tuesday night.

The details appear to contradict what Prime Minister Mark Carney said nearly two weeks ago when he was trying to sell the Canadian public on the deal, which led to the Trump administration dropping its objections to the bridge’s opening.

Canada paid $6.4-billion to build the span between Detroit and Windsor, Ont., and under its original 2012 agreement with Michigan was supposed to collect all the tolls until the costs of the bridge were recouped.

But the Trump administration held up the bridge’s debut in a bid to extract concessions from Ottawa. Mr. Carney has sought to play down how much his government conceded to the White House, but under pressure from the Conservatives the full agreement was quietly released.

What to know so far about the Gordie Howe bridge deal

For people in Detroit and Windsor, Gordie Howe bridge delay fits a familiar – and frustrating – pattern

Under the new side deal, called the Gordie Howe International Bridge Proposed Agreement in Principle, Ottawa agreed to split equally with the United States “net bridge and crossing related revenues” for the first 15 years.

The revenues will be divided between the two countries after operating costs are deducted.

According to the agreement, the money will be paid by Canada to an economic development fund “established and solely controlled” by the U.S.

The deal does not include a clause that allows Canada to cover its debt-servicing costs for the bridge before splitting the revenues with the U.S.

That runs counter to what the Prime Minister told CTV News on July 12.

“We get the revenues, then the servicing of the costs of the bridge and paying the debt of the bridge, and then what’s left over, there’s a split of that for 15 years,” Mr. Carney said on the sidelines of the Calgary Stampede.

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When Ottawa first disclosed the side deal on July 10, details were scant. The brief press release did not say that the federal government would split the net revenues with the U.S., only that it would establish an “economic development fund tied to a portion of profits.”

Conservative MP Shuvaloy Majumdar, who had been campaigning for Ottawa to release the agreement, said Wednesday that the fine print shows Mr. Carney signed a bad deal.

“It’s another capitulation in a string of concessions,” Mr. Majumdar said.

“This late-night release showed that Carney capitulated and Liberals lied.”

In response, Mr. Carney’s office maintained that the government struck a “good deal.”

“It will mean faster border crossings, stronger supply chains, more trade, and a more affordable option for commuters and businesses,” press secretary Renée LeBlanc Proctor said in a Wednesday statement.

In the 2012 deal that first set the parameters for the bridge’s construction and operation, Canada and Michigan agreed that Canada would set toll rates for the bridge through a crossing authority that Ottawa would establish.

Under the side deal struck this month, Mr. Carney’s government partly ceded control of tolling to the Trump administration.

The new agreement says Canada will inform Washington of proposed toll adjustments during the first 15 years of bridge operations.

It says Canada must “seek the United States’ consent” when a proposed toll rate increase exceeds 10 per cent in a year and would result in the rate being above the regional average for such a crossing. Canada must also get America’s consent if it wants to set toll rates below the regional average.

NDP MP Heather McPherson criticized the government for trying to dodge transparency.

“Canadians should never be misled or left in the dark about a project this important – especially one built with our public money,” Ms. McPherson said in a statement.

At the annual summer premiers conference in Charlottetown this week, Ontario’s Doug Ford sounded off against Mr. Trump’s latest tariff threat, saying Canada needs to “stand up to the bully.”

“I’m tired of the bully trying to take our lunch money all the time,” the Premier said on Tuesday.

Asked on Wednesday though whether Canada had failed to stand up to Mr. Trump by accepting the concessions, the Premier said “no.” He added that the priority is having the bridge open.

The Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority, a Canadian Crown corporation that will operate the bridge, has set toll rates for cars and commercial vehicles that are below those of its privately owned competitor, the Ambassador Bridge.

For example, according to their websites, personal vehicles will be charged $8 to cross the Gordie Howe bridge, compared with $14 to cross the Ambassador Bridge.

Michigan’s Moroun family, the billionaire owners of the existing Ambassador Bridge, have lobbied against the Gordie Howe bridge for more than a decade. Matthew Moroun, chairman of the company that owns the Ambassador Bridge, donated US$1-million to a pro-Trump campaign group and earlier this year reportedly met with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

The Gordie Howe bridge is meant to be a more efficient crossing over the Detroit River. It provides direct highway-to-highway access and avoids going through Windsor streets, unlike the route for the Ambassador Bridge.

The long-awaited bridge was slated to open by June 12, but the Trump administration put the brakes on that plan, amid demands for U.S. control of the bridge – which Canada had built and paid for. On July 10, Ottawa announced that it had struck the side deal with Washington and the bridge would open on July 27.

A joint Canada-U.S. celebration planned to mark next week’s bridge opening was cancelled by Ottawa on Tuesday. Instead, a “Canadian Celebration of the Gordie Howe International Bridge” is being planned for Friday.