Local dignitaries say they have received invitations to an event this Friday related to the opening of the long-awaited Gordie Howe International Bridge connecting Michigan and Ontario.
“There’ll be a ribbon cutting on Friday, opening on Monday, and folks will be able to cross pedestrian-wise in terms of bikes and walking on August the 5th,” Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens said at a separate event Monday.
Brian Masse, who served as the NDP MP for the area for more than 20 years, said he also received an invite for the event at the bridge and that it’s set to take place on Friday morning.
“It’s nice because there’s so many people that when this started had passed away or can’t be there,” he said. “So I feel really proud to be able to go and represent kind of the forgotten history of some of the fights that we had to get the border crossing done.”
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Frazier Fathers, the city councillor for the area, also confirmed by email that an event is taking place Friday.
Earlier this month, the Canadian government announced the bridge will open on Monday, July 27, “with the support of the United States government.” The statement came after months of uncertainty over the future of the $6.4 billion dollar span, which U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to block unless the U.S. was compensated — despite Canada having paid for the new crossing in full.
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It’s unclear what, exactly, the Friday morning event will entail. Masse said the invitation did not include details about potential speakers or a breakdown of the planned activities.
The Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority, which oversees the new border crossing, did not respond to a request for comment Monday.
Last month, public officials were set to attend a similar ceremonial event on a Friday when federal officials announced it was being delayed at the request of the U.S.
Asked Monday how confident he is that the opening will move forward as planned this time, Dilkens said it’s “a good question” but pointed to previous public confirmations from both Prime Minister Mark Carney and Trump.
“The fact of the matter is we’re at a point now where unless something crazy happens in Trump land where, you know, there’s wildfire smoke and he sees he can leverage this again, who knows?,” Dilkens said.
“But I think by all accounts this is going to move forward.”
