OTTAWA – The newly opened Gordie Howe International Bridge appears to have attracted strong early interest from motorists and commercial operators, with preliminary data showing tens of thousands of crossings during its first five days of operation.
The long-awaited crossing between Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit opened to traffic on July 27, following weeks of delays and months of political disputes surrounding the project.
Statistics Canada’s preliminary inbound traffic figures show that 18,900 Canadian residents returned from the United States through the Gordie Howe bridge during its first five days. At the same time, 18,100 U.S. residents entered Canada through the new crossing.
The agency also recorded 4,100 commercial transport trucks entering Canada through the Gordie Howe bridge during the final days of July.
Because Statistics Canada tracks only inbound movements, Canadian motorists travelling south toward Detroit are recorded instead through U.S. customs data.
New bridge captures a significant share of crossings
Canada’s two traditional busiest land crossings in the region — the Ambassador Bridge and the Windsor-Detroit Tunnel — recorded a combined 52,700 inbound trips during the same period, according to Statistics Canada. The agency did not provide a separate breakdown for the two facilities.
When the three crossings are considered together, the Gordie Howe bridge represented approximately 44 per cent of all land crossings from Detroit into Windsor during its first five days.
However, Marwa Abdou, senior research director at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, cautioned against drawing firm conclusions about the bridge’s long-term traffic levels from such a short period.
The initial numbers may partly reflect curiosity among passenger-vehicle drivers wanting to experience the new crossing, while exporters and commercial operators may also have been testing the new route.
“Some may be genuine diversion from the Ambassador Bridge or tunnel, but it’s also what this additional infrastructure is supposed to allow — the element of choice,” Abdou said.
According to Abdou, the bridge’s economic value should not be judged simply by the number of trucks using it. Its broader impact will depend on whether the additional crossing improves trade flows and lowers the cost and uncertainty associated with moving goods between Canada and Michigan.
For example, an automotive parts exporter based in Windsor could use the new bridge to reduce congestion on existing routes or establish a more direct connection with a customer in Detroit.
If shifting traffic between the crossings creates more reliable or cost-effective options for businesses, Abdou said that would represent a successful outcome regardless of which bridge individual trucks ultimately use.
“Economic value is not just another place to cross the river. It’s actually having another route through a production corridor where reliability matters enormously,” she said.
Michigan-Canada trade weakened under tariffs
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce also provided The Canadian Press with a new analysis showing that exports from Michigan to Canada declined sharply as tariffs took effect last year.
Michigan’s total exports to Canada fell from US$24.4 billion in 2024 to US$20.9 billion in 2025, according to Abdou’s analysis.
Employment in Michigan sectors dependent on exports to Canada also declined, with 15,600 jobs lost. The automotive industry accounted for most of the employment reduction.
Canadian exports to Michigan, primarily originating in Ontario, also decreased, falling from $41.2 billion in 2024 to $39.6 billion in 2025.
The decline was again concentrated in the automotive sector but also affected base metals, plastics, metal products, pulp and paper.
The Chamber of Commerce described the figures as evidence of the vulnerability of production networks built around decades of relatively seamless continental integration.
“The declines between 2024 and 2025 expose the fragility of production systems built around the assumption of seamless continental integration. And that reality makes the strategic significance of the Gordie Howe International Bridge even more obvious,” the chamber’s report states.
Bridge opens as tariff tensions intensify
Canada financed the construction of the Gordie Howe bridge, but its opening was delayed while Ottawa and Washington negotiated an agreement to divide net toll revenues during the first 15 years of the crossing’s operation.
The bridge is now opening at a particularly sensitive moment for Canada-U.S. trade.
Canada’s trade team is back in Washington this week as negotiations intensify ahead of an Aug. 19 deadline set by the Trump administration. The deadline could bring a new round of 50 per cent tariffs on a range of Canadian goods.
While the new bridge can reduce some of the physical challenges involved in moving goods across the border, Abdou said the economic benefits of improved infrastructure can be undermined by higher costs created by tariff disputes.
Nevertheless, she views the Gordie Howe crossing as evidence of the long-term economic importance of Canada-U.S. integration.
The infrastructure is designed to serve the region for decades rather than simply generate a specific traffic target during its opening period.
“Infrastructure like this is built for decades. It’s not for an opening week target for traffic,” Abdou said.
With additional capacity and another route across the Detroit River, the Gordie Howe International Bridge could therefore become an important part of the region’s trade infrastructure, particularly as manufacturers and exporters seek greater reliability and flexibility amid changing North American trade conditions.
