The official dedication of a new bridge between the United States and Canada on Friday will be without the participation of American officials.
Canada has cancelled a joint celebration with the United States in connection with the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge, which connects the Canadian province of Ontario with the American state of Michigan.
It comes after the White House announced on Monday that the United States will impose a 50 percent tariff on several Canadian products from August 19.
This is written by a spokesperson for Canada’s Minister of Infrastructure, Gregor Robertsen, in a statement to the Reuters news agency.
– In light of the trade measures that the US has threatened earlier this week, it would be inappropriate to hold a joint celebration between the two countries, writes spokesperson Jenna Ghassabeh in the statement.
The bridge will open to traffic as planned on Monday 27 July.
Originally, the plan was for an official inauguration to take place on Friday, July 24, with the participation of American and Canadian officials. The mayor of Windsor, Drew Dilkens, has previously informed local media.
Canada is sticking to plans to open the bridge on July 27, but will instead mark the event on July 24 with a celebration among Canadians, according to Reuters from Ghassabeh.
Construction on the bridge, named after the late Canadian-born National Hockey League legend Gordie Howe, began in 2018.
It has cost 4.7 billion dollars, which corresponds to 30.8 billion Danish kroner.
In February, US President Donald Trump threatened to stop the opening of the bridge. The justification given by the president was, among other things, that Canada had stopped selling American alcohol and had tariffs on imports of dairy products.
He also criticized that almost no American materials or services had been used in the construction of the bridge, of which he also believed that the United States should own at least half.
RITZAU
