An upcoming forum at Michigan State University will highlight the significance of the Windsor-Detroit border, the busiest international border crossing in North America. Over 320 million U.S. dollars’ worth of goods cross this border every day.

The forum, “Beyond the Gordie Howe Bridge: Reimagining Trade and Commerce for a New Age,” will take place on Friday, Sept. 27, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the MSU Henry Center for Executive Development (3535 Forest Rd. Lansing, MI 48910). Hosted by the MSU Canadian Studies Center, this event will focus on U.S.-Canada and Michigan-Canada relations in trade, economics, policy and cultural affairs.

Featured speakers, who will discuss the importance of the Gordie Howe International Bridge; what they envision for U.S.-Canada and Michigan-Canada relations; and what governments, businesses and academic leaders on both sides of the border must do to maximize trade and commerce, include:

• Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist
• Heather Grondin, chief relations officer, Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority
• Michigan Rep. Amos O’Neal (49th House district)
• Michigan Sen. Roger Victory (31st Senate district)
• Amy O’Leary, executive director, Southeast Michigan Council of Governments
• Laurie Tannous, president, Canada-United States Business Association
• Colin Bird, consul general of Canada in Detroit
• Earl Provost, Ontario agent-general
• Stephen Brooks, professor of political science, University of Windsor
• Jean-François Hould, Quebec delegate in Chicago
• Val Kucherenko, director, MSU Center for Railway Research and Education

Facts about the Gordie Howe International Bridge and Michigan-Canada trade relations:

• Construction of the Gordie Howe International Bridge began in 2018 and is expected to finish in 2025. The bridge, which will be owned by the government of Canada as part of a public-private partnership, augments existing Windsor-Detroit border crossings, the Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, which are both privately owned.
• Canada is Michigan’s No. 1 international trading partner. Michigan exports over $20 billion worth of goods to Canada annually and nearly $2 billion in services. Likewise, Michigan imports nearly $40 billion in goods from Canada, including $10 billion in automobiles.
• Nearly 450 Canadian-owned businesses employ over 30,000 workers in Michigan.

“Trade and positive relationships with Canada are essential to Michigan’s success,” said Rebecca Malouin, director of the MSU Canadian Studies Center. “The MSU Canadian Studies Center is excited to highlight this important relationship with the MSU community and with regional stakeholders on both sides of the border.”

The MSU Canadian Studies Center is the longest-serving university center for the study of Canada in the U.S. It boasts over 140 MSU core faculty members and flagship initiatives such as Canada Connect and the Midwest Canadian Studies Network. The event is cosponsored with Canadian National Railway, Eli Broad College of Business, James Madison College, MSU Mobility, MSU Institute for Public Policy and Social Research and the Canada-United States Business Association.

Read more about Malouin and the Canadian Studies Center.

Header photo courtesy of Windsor-Detroit Border Authority.