Did Canada Just Cave To The Trump Administration?

 

 

The US Tourism Decline is only one part of the growing divide between Canada and the United States. The Gordie Howe International Bridge is finally set to open on July 27, and as a Canadian I should be excited. But after reading the reported terms of this new deal, I feel like Canada caved. 

 

Canada financed the entire $6.4 billion project after the United States declined to contribute. The plan was for Canada to recover those costs through toll revenue. Reuters is now reporting that the United States will receive 50 per cent of toll revenue and could veto certain toll increases. Ottawa has confirmed a new agreement, but has not publicly explained those terms with the same level of detail. 

 

In this video, I go through the CTV and Reuters reporting and explain why I think the Canadian government gave in to pressure from the Trump administration just to get the bridge open. I understand why Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan need this crossing. But when one side changes the rules after the project is already completed, giving them more can look less like cooperation and more like rewarding strongarming. 

 

This is bigger than the Gordie Howe Bridge. It is about the relationship between Canada and the United States, the US Canada trade war, Canadian sovereignty, Donald Trump, Mark Carney, and whether Ottawa can stand firm when Washington decides an existing agreement is no longer good enough. 

 

 Did Canada make the practical decision, or did we get the short end of the stick? Let me know what you think in the comments.  

 

 

Source:       Guard The Leaf