Trudeau visits Windsor to tout new bridge, meet with union leaders

WINDSOR, Ont. — Fresh off his government’s completion of a trade deal to replace NAFTA, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is set to visit the home of Canada’s busiest border crossing.

Trudeau is spending today in Windsor, Ont., where he’ll meet with union leaders, tour a vehicle assembly plant and hand out turkeys for Thanksgiving.

But the prime minister starts his day with an announcement about the Gordie Howe bridge, a new span over the Detroit River set to open in 2024. The project, which will cost $5.7 billion, will have a lifespan of 125 years.

Roughly one-quarter of all goods traded annually between Canada and the U.S. passes through the Windsor-Detroit corridor.

Trudeau spent much of Thursday in Montreal, where he pledged to compensate dairy farmers for their expected losses under the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, known as USMCA.

The deal allows the U.S. greater access to the Canadian dairy market and eliminates competitive dairy classes. It also promises Canada will be exempt from any future U.S. tariffs imposed on automobiles and auto parts as a matter of national security.