First phone call after the rift, Kaney told Trump: The cross-border bridge was built by Canada
After shouting "The old order led by the United States is dead," Canadian Prime Minister Kaney had his first phone call with Trump.
Kaney called Trump to discuss the Gordie Howe International Bridge. A few days ago, Trump threatened that if Canada did not provide full compensation to the United States, the bridge would not be opened.
The bridge is named after Canadian hockey player Gordie Howe, with one end in Detroit, USA, and the other in Windsor, Canada, and it is theoretically jointly owned by both cities.
However, Trump insisted that Canada would gain the most benefits after the bridge opens, and they could get "huge profits," so they should at least give half of the management rights to the US.
Next moment, Trump also said the US should receive "full compensation," otherwise the bridge would not be opened. As for what he meant by compensation - whether it was the management rights mentioned earlier or specific compensation money - it was unclear, but in the end, it was all about money.
Regarding this, Kaney explained during the call that the construction costs of the bridge were entirely paid by Canada, amounting to more than 4 billion dollars. However, the project was completed jointly by the US and Canada, and some of the raw materials came from the US. During the construction period, the project provided tens of thousands of jobs in the US.
Therefore, Trump's statement that the bridge has nothing to do with the US is wrong; it is a joint effort of the two countries. However, Kaney did not specify the ownership of the bridge or whether he agreed to Trump's request, only saying that the atmosphere of the call was good.
Before hanging up, Kaney also bet with Trump that Canada would win the women's ice hockey game at the Milan Winter Olympics later that day. However, the result completely humiliated him, as the US team defeated Canada 5-0. It's unknown how Kaney would feel about it.
In fact, Kaney didn't need to go through so much trouble. He just needed to do one thing: change the name of the bridge to Trump International Bridge. In that case, not only would Trump not block the opening of the bridge, but he might even happily come to cut the ribbon.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1856817604248579/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.