Hoekstra’s comments on Gordie Howe bridge ‘a punch in the face’, says ex-Harper communications chief

Former government communications director Andrew MacDougall called Hoekstra "The Ambassador for Gaslight to Canada" in a social media post. Photo by Tony Caldwell/Postmedia

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Pete Hoekstra’s claim that Canada paying to construct the Gordie Howe International Bridge is a “big myth” has been branded “a punch in the face” by former Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s director of communications.

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Andrew MacDougall, who held the role when the Canada-Michigan Crossing Agreement was signed in June 2012, told National Post in an interview that the Trump administration “has shown time and time again that it will punch its friends in the face” in response to the U.S. Ambassador to Canada’s comments.

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Hoekstra made the remarks during a wide-ranging interview about Canada-U.S. trade on the July 2 edition of The Food Professor podcast. Canada footing the bill for the bridge “is the big myth that is out there,” he said. “I think it’s important that people realize this, okay? Because I hear it all the time. What does America have to do with this? We paid for the bridge. It’s our bridge. Just open it.”

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While Hoekstra acknowledged that Canada loaned the bridge authority $7 billion for the construction, he said that as the bridge generates revenue, the cost will be paid back. “The bridge will actually be paid for by the folks who are using the bridge. It will not be paid for by the Canadian government. So, Canada put the money up front, but at the end of the day, the expectation is that there will be a ‘use tax’ that will pay for the bridge.”

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MacDougall responded to Hoekstra’s comments on social media, labelling the U.S. politician “The Ambassador for Gaslight to Canada.”

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Perrin Beatty, former president and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, took a similar stance, writing on X: “Apparently, the US is being cheated because Canada paid to build the Gordie Howe Bridge. Here’s how Cleveland Health describes how to tell when you’re being gaslighted.”

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And Dimitri Soudas, who was also director of communications under Harper and left the job less than a year before the deal was signed, said in a post that he was “in the room” during negotiations, adding, “history doesn’t become fiction just because you say it on television.”

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