Open this photo in gallery:
The Gordie Howe International Bridge between Windsor, Ont., and Detroit is scheduled to open July 27.Dax Melmer/The Globe and Mail
Prime Minister Mark Carney said he expects Canada won’t have much, if any, toll proceeds from the new Gordie Howe International Bridge to share with the United States during the first few years of its operation – and defended a deal last week with Donald Trump that directs some revenue to bolster Michigan’s economy.
Mr. Carney said net revenue from tolls, after expenses are stripped out, may be “negative to modest” in the early years of bridge operation.
The new Windsor-Detroit crossing, along one of Canada’s most important trade corridors, is set to open July 27 after months of uncertainty stemming from a threat by the U.S. President to block its debut. The new pact with Washington, announced July 10, appears to satisfy Mr. Trump’s demands for a better deal.
Mr. Carney, speaking to reporters Thursday during an unrelated news conference in London, Ont., played down the costs to Canada of pacifying Mr. Trump.
Canada, which solely financed the $6.4-billion cost of building the bridge based on a 2012 agreement with Michigan, was planning to recoup this money over decades by collecting the entirety of the tolls. This would have covered both the money it advanced and the funds borrowed to finance construction.
But in the new agreement announced last week, Canada will share some toll proceeds with the United States for the next decade and a half. Mr. Trump, in a social media post over the weekend, called this a “MUCH BETTER DEAL for America.”
Explainer: What to know about the Gordie Howe bridge deal
According to Ottawa, for 15 years Canada will send half of the toll revenue that’s left over, after expenses, to an economic development fund that will benefit the U.S. regional economy near the bridge – namely Michigan.
On Thursday, Mr. Carney offered more detail on the deal, calling the money to be split the “net revenue after operational expenses.” He said expenses include staffing toll booths, maintenance, snow removal and other costs.
There may be nothing to share with the United States in the first few years, he suggested.
“We expect that after those costs, for the first few years, net revenues will be modest – in fact, we expect them to be negative,” Mr. Carney said. This would be because bridge traffic has only started growing, “so negative to modest in the first few years.”