The Blue Water Bridge Authority was a Canadian

Crown corporation Crown corporation () is the term used in Canada for organizations that are structured like private companies, but are directly and wholly owned by the government. Crown corporations have a long-standing presence in the country, and have a sign ...

responsible for the operation and maintenance of the Canadian side of the

Blue Water Bridge The Blue Water Bridge is a twin-span international bridge across the St. Clair River that links Port Huron, Michigan, United States, and Point Edward, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Water Bridge connects Highway 402 in Ontario with both Interst ...

Point Edward, Ontario Point Edward is a village in the Canadian province of Ontario. Adjacent to the city of Sarnia in Lambton County, Point Edward sits opposite Port Huron, Michigan and is connected to it by the Blue Water Bridge, at the meeting point of the St. C ...

. It was established on May 21, 1964 via the ''Blue Water Bridge Authority Act (Canada)'', which authorized it to provide highway traffic between Canada and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

over the Blue Water Bridge. It was granted exclusive rights to levy tolls on westbound traffic from Canada to the United States in order to offset the costs of operation, maintenance, and construction. On April 26, 2002, the Authority became a Schedule III, Part I parent

. It was not required to pay taxes and not eligible to receive appropriations. In September 2007, in accordance with

Federal Identity Program The Federal Identity Program (FIP, , PCIM) is the Government of Canada's corporate identity program. The purpose of the FIP is to provide to the public a consistent and unified image for federal government projects and activities. Other objecti ...

requirements, the organization was officially titled Blue Water Bridge Canada. On February 1, 2015, via House Government Bill C-4 Section 8 (assented to on December 12, 2013), the Blue Water Bridge Authority was amalgamated with St. Mary's River Bridge Company and Federal Bridge Corporation Limited to form a new corporate entity,

Federal Bridge Corporation Limited The Federal Bridge Corporation Limited (FBCL; ) is the name of two successive Canada, Canadian federal Crown corporations. The Federal Bridge Corporation Limited is responsible for operating and managing the following bridges: * Blue Water Bridg ...

, which currently owns and maintains the Canadian side of the Blue Water Bridge along with three other international bridges in Canada.

Facilities

The Bridge

The Blue Water Bridge Authority was responsible for the Canadian half of the

, a twin-span bridge over the

St. Clair River The St. Clair River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed November 7, 2011 river in central North America which flows from Lake Huron into Lake St. Clair, forming part ...

at the mouth of

Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is shared on the north and east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the south and west by the U.S. state of Michigan. The name of the lake is derived from early French ex ...

. It sits on of land in the village of

. The American half of the bridge is separately owned and maintained by the

Michigan Department of Transportation The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) is a constitutional government principal department of the US state of Michigan. The primary purpose of MDOT is to maintain the Michigan State Trunkline Highway System which includes all Interst ...

Canadian Plaza

There are several buildings and operations underneath the bridge on the Canadian side, collectively known as the Canadian Plaza. Among these are: * Administration offices * Canada Border Services Agency * Canadian Food Inspection Agency * Commercial brokers * Currency Exchange * Customs brokers * Duty Free Store * Public washrooms * Toll office

Business

The main source of revenue for Bridge operations on the Canadian side is the exclusive right, granted by the ''Canada Transportation Act (1996)'', to collect tolls from westbound traffic crossing the bridge from

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

into the

. Toll revenue from eastbound traffic into Canada from the United States is levied by and belongs to the

. Toll rates are reviewed regularly, and both sides of the Bridge independently vary their rates based on fluctuating traffic conditions, trade agreements between Canada and the United States, foreign exchange rates between the two countries' currencies, and other factors. Other sources of revenue include Duty Free Store sales, currency exchange fees, and interest on cash and investments. Expenses include salaries and benefits, general and administrative expenses, and maintenance costs.

Community Integration

Approximately of land owned by the Bridge has been identified as archaeologically sensitive according to the ''Cemeteries Act (Ontario)'', due to aboriginal burial sites in the area. The land on which the bridge was built was once a hub for the

Anishinaabe The Anishinaabe (alternatively spelled Anishinabe, Anicinape, Nishnaabe, Neshnabé, Anishinaabeg, Anishinabek, Aanishnaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples in the Great Lakes region of C ...

trade network that spanned the continent, and a place of celebration and ceremony. Today, responsibility for preserving the burial sites is held by the

Aamjiwnaang First Nation The Aamjiwnaang First Nation (formerly Chippewas of Sarnia First Nation; ) is an Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) First Nations Band located on reserve land by the St. Clair River in Ontario, Canada, three miles south of the southern tip of Lake Huron. Th ...

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary * Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania * Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, ...

Sarnia, Ontario Sarnia is a city in Lambton County, Ontario, Canada. It had a Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population of 72,047, and is the largest city on Lake Huron. Sarnia is located on the eastern bank of the junction between the Upper and Lower Great Lakes, ...

. Blue Water Bridge Canada and Aamjiwnaang First Nation have historically maintained an excellent working relationship, yielding conflict-free construction of the second bridge span, expanded parking lots, and other on-site development despite taking place on archaeologically sensitive land. Officials from the Bridge and Aamjiwnaang First Nation continue to meet yearly to explore current and future issues of mutual interest.

Souls Memorial

As a symbol of co-operation and respect between the Blue Water Bridge and the Aamjiwnaang First Nation, a statue was unveiled just south of the bridge on June 21, 2003, hand-carved by

artist and sculptor Dennis Henry-Shawnoo from a single piece of sandstone.

Amalgamation

In October 2013, in order to streamline governance of the four separate Crown corporations that owned international crossings, the federal government announced its intention to amalgamate them under a single Crown corporation, the

. Bill C-4 Section 8 was passed into law December 12, 2013, and was fully in effect as of February 1, 2015.

References

{{Authority control Former Crown corporations of Canada Canadian companies established in 1964 Canadian companies disestablished in 2015 1964 establishments in Ontario 2015 disestablishments in Ontario