What did Carney ‘negotiate away to the Americans’? Poilievre wants answers for Gordie Howe Bridge deal

People fish in the Detroit River in front of the Gordie Howe International Bridge in June 2026. Photo by Jeff Kowalsky /Bloomberg

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Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has called out Prime Minister Mark Carney for making “contradictory statements” on how revenue from the new Gordie Howe International Bridge will be split between Canada and the United States.

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In a letter to the PM shared on social media, Poilievre wrote: “Canada paid for 100 per cent of the cost of building the Gordie Howe International Bridge under the simple promise that we would collect 100 per cent of the tolls until the cost was repaid.

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“Last week, you announced an agreement giving Americans a cut of profits sooner. Since then, Canadians have been left in the dark about how much you conceded with your government hiding the agreement from the public.”

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On July 10, the Government of Canada confirmed that the Gordie Howe Bridge will open on July 27, following weeks of delays and public criticism from the Trump administration. However, the new terms of the deal have not been disclosed by either the Canadian or U.S. government.

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In a press conference in London, Ont., on Thursday, Carney was pressed on what share of the tolls will go to each party. Originally, Canada was to receive all the tolls until it was fully repaid for financing the $6.4 billion bridge, after which the two countries would split the revenue.

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“Splitting of tolls, any sharing of the toll revenue won’t happen until all of the debt is repaid,” he said. “We will split net revenues over the course of the first 15 years, and those net revenues are after operational costs.”

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He added that he expects net revenues for the first couple of years to be “modest.”

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Meanwhile, in an interview with CTV on Sunday, Carney said: “The word ‘net’ does a lot of work in this. We are sharing after Canada is paid back.” He later added that “there’s not going to be a lot of net to split” with the U.S.

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Net revenue is the total amount of money made, minus adjustments such as discounts, while net profit refers to what remains after deducting all business expenses, including operating costs.

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The Gordie Howe International Bridge is shown from Windsor on Thursday, June 4, 2026. Photo by Dan Janisse

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Poilievre continued in his letter to the PM: “While answering questions about the deal, you made directly contradictory statements about what you’ve given away.” He pointed out that Carney said the deal is “not splitting the tolls of the bridge,” but that it is “an agreement for 15 years to split net revenues,” and “any sharing of the toll revenue won’t happen until all of the debt is paid.”