Those pesky loyalists from the frozen north are at it again. Launching raids in rowboats across the Detroit River. Rumor has it they never truly accepted the surrender of Fort Detroit in 1793 and wish to place the red maple leaf across its proud battlements. The smell of poutine and cannabis fills the air. Trudeau clasps his hands and smiles, already planning to import another few million Indian immigrants to repopulate Detroit’s west side.
Poetic license of course. They simply built a new bridge.
The Gordie Howe Bridge, in fact, and it does look damn impressive. A cable-stayed bridge, with two magnificent towers supporting the panoply of cables holding the deck in place. The longest bridge of its kind in North America, suspended 46 meters (50 yards, for more civilized folks) above the Detroit River, connecting I-75 directly to Canadian Highway 401. Named after famed Canadian hockey player Gordie Howe, no less. Sure, he played 25 storied seasons for the Red Wings, and we love him for it… but he was a Canadian to the end.
Canada, in fact, even graciously funding the bridge itself! A blend of government funds, predicated on future toll revenues (Canada gets all toll revenues from the bridge), and long-term bank loans from a consortium of British and Canadian banks are funding the $4.4 billion dollar effort. The list of lenders reads like a legacy of the British Empire: the Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) first among them, that ancient British bank that first cut its teeth in far flung corners of Asia. The bridge is a British imperial project, no doubt. Let’s not forget that King Charles remains technically sovereign over Canada.
Anyone who’s traveled over the Ambassador Bridge recently, or taken the jaunt up to Sarnia to transit the Bluewater Bridge, can tell you they’re constantly backed up with traffic. Commercial traffic, in particular—I’ve personally seen lines of trucks heading to the Bluewater Bridge from Canada 10 miles long. A quarter of all commercial traffic between the U.S. and Canada passes through Detroit, in fact. The need for a new bridge is obvious for commuters and truck drivers alike, but behind the mere logistical need, Canada stands to benefit immensely.
Canadians may be stereotyped for their friendliness and generosity, but let’s not mistake them for rubes. The Canadian government isn’t sticking its neck out to fund this project out of the goodness of their hearts. There’s a simple reason here—Canada has a massively favorable trade surplus with the U.S., particularly with the state of Michigan, and it is extremely necessary to keep the money flowing.
As of 2022, the state of Michigan alone had a $23.4 billion goods trade deficit with Canada. That’s over a quarter of the entire U.S. goods trade deficit with Canada that year, which totaled $80.1 billion. That’s 2.38% of Canadian GDP. No wonder they want a new bridge and are willing to pay for it themselves.
For those who don’t know what a trade deficit means, it means we’re buying far more from Canada than they are from us. Even simpler, this means our money is flowing to Canada, not the other way around. Trade deficits, historically, were the cause of major disputes, and even occasional wars, between nations who recognized the profoundly deleterious effects that deficits had upon their sovereign wealth.
Not anymore in the era of free trade. The total U.S. trade deficit stood at a staggering $953 billion in 2022—$80 billion of which went to Canada. China, in popular imagination, takes the brunt of the blame for this. Our friends to the north enjoy their surplus much more quietly, while they comfortably drink milk out of plastic bags and mainline maple syrup, or whatever it is they do up there.
You want the real irony? Canada even puts the Motor City to shame, exporting $27.7 billion worth of cars, trucks, and parts to Michigan, while Michigan only exports $15 billion in automobile-related products back to them. That’s a $12.7 billion deficit in motor vehicles alone. Everyone knows that vehicle manufacturing has increasingly been outsourced abroad, but few recognize that even Canada is putting Michigan to shame.
Listen, business, trade, and peaceful relations with our friends in Canada are all good things. Who doesn’t love maple syrup, and hell, poutine is even pretty good from time to time. But it is simply atrocious for Michiganders to bleed out tens of billions of dollars every year in a foolishly short-sighted free trade deficit with one of our allies.
The harsh truth is, the Canadians aren’t entirely at fault either—Michigan simply doesn’t produce as much as it used to. There isn’t as much for them to buy. The trade deficit in motor vehicles alone shows the full picture. Michigan imports more cars from Canada than it exports. That tells you all you need to know.
Build the bridge, let the Canadians pay for it, but push for a better trade deal for Michigan as well. One that is at least on even terms for Michiganders, that truly benefits Michigan businesses, and not just the GDP of Canada. Push for domestic manufacturing in Michigan, making Michigan products competitive again, and see what happens when money starts entering the state, rather than leaving it.
Bobby Mars is an artist, alter ego, and former art professor. Follow him on X @bobby_on_mars.
