Governor Whitmer on Reopening of Ambassador Bridge 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 14, 2022

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Governor Whitmer on Reopening of Ambassador Bridge

LANSING, Mich. – Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued the following statement after the Ambassador Bridge was reopened to traffic and trade after being forced to shut down for nearly a week. The shutdown caused significant financial loss to Michigan’s working families and economy as manufacturing plants had to halt production due to a parts shortage and agricultural exports were delayed or blocked.

“This is a win for Michigan’s working families who are just trying to do their jobs and for businesses who can get back to shipping their products and produce. It’s time to get traffic and trade moving across North America’s busiest land border crossing again. I will always stand with every hardworking Michigander and do whatever it takes to ensure that our businesses can keep humming along.

“I want to thank the unified coalition of business leaders and organizations representing working men and women on both sides of the border for coming together to get this resolved. And I appreciate the U.S. and Canadian governments for hearing Michigan’s concerns loud and clear and stepping up to reopen the bridge. We will all continue closely monitoring the situation to ensure that traffic safely and swiftly moves across the Ambassador Bridge.

“It’s important to ensure that this does not happen again. I will work to protect the economic freedom and well-being of families and businesses in Michigan. We’ve made incredible progress to grow Michigan’s economy together, adding 220,000 jobs year over year. I know we can keep this momentum going, create good-paying jobs, and lower costs to help families and businesses thrive.”

The Michigan Department of Treasury estimates that 10,000 commercial vehicles cross the bridge each day with $325 million of goods. Approximately $50 million is from automotive parts. Nearly 30% of the annual trade between Michigan and Canada comes across the Ambassador Bridge.

Last week, Governor Whitmer issued a statement calling on Canadian authorities to immediately reopen traffic on the bridge. She appeared on WXYZ and CNN to reiterate her call on Canadian officials to take all appropriate steps to reopen traffic swiftly and safely. Links to view the  full interviews on can be found here and here.