OTTAWA — The federal Liberal government will need to find $3.5 billion more to pay for a new bridge at the bustling border crossing between Canada and the United States.
Documents show Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been warned that the cost of building the new Windsor-Detroit bridge has likely gone up by at least $2 billion, thanks to the declining value of the Canadian dollar.
Government officials told Trudeau the project would also need an extra $1.5 billion in a contingency fund to bear the shock of any interest rate increases should the loonie decline further against its American counterpart.
The government's long-term fiscal framework has the price of the bridge pegged at $4.8 billion.
The details are laid out in a secret briefing note to Trudeau obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act.
The Windsor-Detroit crossing is the busiest commercial trade crossing between Canada and the United States.
