Detroit and Windsor’s economies are intimately connected. On a typical day, thousands of trucks cross the Detroit River with parts that may cross back again several times before a single car rolls off the line. 

But that rhythm is off. 

New tariffs and shifting border rules have fueled uncertainty, and you can see it in fewer trucks and feel it in prices. The port handled about 1.4 million inbound trucks last year, down from over one and half million the year before. The flow has been wobbling through 2025. 

Canadian travel to the U.S. has also slumped this summer, draining foot traffic from border businesses. A new crossing, the Gordie Howe International Bridge, could add capacity later this year, but the rules at the booth still set the tempo. 

Marta Leardi-Anderso, executive director of the Cross-Border Institute at the University of Windsor, joined The Metro to unpack the mechanics and the human impact of President Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods.

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Gordie Howe International Bridge officials say construction work on the new span over the Detroit River is about 95% complete.

The project broke ground in 2018. The roughly 1.5-mile long crossing between Detroit and Windsor is still on track to open this fall, but an exact date has not yet been given.

Windsor Detroit Bridge Authority spokesperson Heather Grondin says crews are wrapping up paving work and putting the finishing touches on employee areas.

“We’re also doing a lot of landscaping,” said Grondin. “These are major ports of entry — the largest along the Canada-U.S. border — so landscaping is a huge part of the project.”

Grondin adds that crews have a number of final checks to carry out before the grand opening.

“Testing our lighting is a great example of that,” she said. “It’s not just installing the 5,000-plus aesthetic lights, the safety lights that will be on the bridge, but it’s also testing it and making sure it works.”

As for work residents in Michigan and Ontario may notice, Grondin says the construction cranes on the bridge have now come down — marking a major milestone in the project.

Work has also begun on testing the technological systems and processes in preparation for the bridge’s opening, according to project officials.

In this week’s episode of Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music, it’s the annual Canada Day Show, ahead of the July 1 holiday.

“Geography has made us neighbors. History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners. And necessity has made us allies. Those whom nature hath so joined together, let no man put asunder.”

– Former U.S. President John F. Kennedy

See the playlist below and listen to the episode for two weeks after it airs using the media player above.

Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music Playlist for June 28, 2025

HOUR ONE:

• “The Canadian Dream” – Sam Roberts Band
  
• “Baseball” – Sara Dufour
  
• “Red Future” – Snotty Nose Rez Kids
• “The Cobbler” – Matt Andersen
• “Consistency” – Tanika Charles
• “No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature” – The Guess Who
• “Dopamine” – Jon Vinyl
• “Canadian” – Billy Raffoul
  
• “Mhepo” – Munya Mataruse
• “Total Cinema” – Ken Yates
• “Girls Like You” – Sofia Camara
  
• “Yellow” – Tegan & Sara
• “Human Nature” – Sloan
• “Rolodex” – Logan Richard
  

• “Better Broken” – Sarah McLachlan
  
• “Home” – Aysanabee
• “Listen2Me” – foxwarren
• “Poets” – Tragically Hip
• “Eleanor Rigby” – Oscar Peterson
  
• “Life Is A Highway” – Tom Cochrane
  
• “Walking In Sunshine” – Brandon Isaac
  
• “Nothing Is Perfect” – Metric
  
• “My People” – AHI
  
• “The Night Loves Us” – Alan Doyle
• Qujannamiik” – The Jerry Cans
• “Pour que tu m’aimes encore” – Celine Dion
• “Acadian Driftwood” – The Band

Listen to Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music every Saturday from 2-4 p.m. ET on Detroit Public Radio 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand at wdet.org.