Vehicles cross the Gordie Howe International Bridge in Windsor, Ont., on Monday, July 27, 2026, the first day it was open to vehicles. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Dax Melmer

By The Canadian Press

Gordie Howe bridge saw more than 41K crossings into Canada in first 5 days: StatCan

Aug 11, 2026 | 8:57 AM

OTTAWA — Tens of thousands of motorists crossed the Gordie Howe International Bridge into Canada over the first few days after it opened, according to Statistics Canada.

The long-anticipated bridge connecting Windsor and Detroit opened to traffic on July 27 after weeks of delay.

StatCan released preliminary inbound traffic figures on Tuesday showing 18,900 Canadian resident return trips from the United States over the Gordie Howe bridge during its first five days of operation.

Over the same period, 18,100 U.S. residents crossed the bridge to enter Canada.

The agency said 4,100 commercial transport trucks entered Canada over the Gordie Howe bridge in the final days of the month.

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StatCan’s data only tracks inbound trips, while motorists heading across the bridge to Detroit would be captured in U.S. customs records.

The Ambassador Bridge and the Windsor-Detroit Tunnel — normally Canada’s two busiest land crossings — saw 52,700 inbound trips over the same period, StatCan said. The agency didn’t offer a breakdown between the two crossings.

Taken together, the Gordie Howe bridge accounted for roughly 44 per cent of total land crossings from Detroit to Windsor over its first five days of operation.

Canada paid for the bridge’s construction but its opening was delayed until Ottawa struck a deal to split net toll revenues with Washington over the first 15 years of its operation.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 11, 2026.

Craig Lord, The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

Gordie Howe bridge saw more than 41K crossings into Canada in first 5 days: StatCan

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