Ribbon-cutting for Gordie Howe bridge underway in Windsor — without the U.S.

Vibe check: It isn’t all celebratory

The vibe here today is undoubtedly celebratory. But it’s very clearly a Canadian celebration — lots of red and white, and a slew of Canadian officials of all stripes. The missing American presence is clear. 

There’s also the political controversy leading up to the opening, fuelled by the prime minister’s shifting explanations of how the new deal with the Trump administration to open the bridge actually works. 

“It’s a moment of Canadian pride,” said Conservative MP Shuv Majumdar, who’s at the ceremony and earlier today wrote a letter to Canada’s trade minister demanding information about the bridge deal. “I mean, you look at the bridge today, the monument of the bridge itself is objectively gorgeous. Canadians paid for and built an incredible bridge.”

“One of my laments is that we don’t have kids from either side of the border playing street hockey to inaugurate the bridge, playing with Canadian sticks and having a great time. But as you know, sadly, the day is also mired because of the failure of transparency around the nature of the deal on this bridge,” he said at the ceremony.