Trudeau sparks confusion with passing mention of new bridge at Dawson City, Yukon

When George Filipovic got a text from a friend on Wednesday saying the prime minister had announced funding for a new bridge in Dawson City, Yukon, he was utterly floored.

"I thought you know, maybe it was a vague statement, or something misinterpreted — but there was absolutely no misinterpretation," said Filipovic.

The West Dawson resident confirmed it by listening back to that day's Question Period in the House of Commons. There it was — the prime minister, responding to the opposition leader's questions about road infrastructure, saying what few if any Yukoners were expecting.   

"Through the National Trade Corridors Fund alone, we are building projects like a new bridge over the Yukon River in Dawson City," said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Turns out, Trudeau's passing comment may have been a bridge too far.

By Thursday morning, the Yukon government had issued a statement suggesting the prime minister may have mixed up his Yukon bridges.

"There are no plans at this time to build a bridge over the Yukon River in Dawson," the statement reads.

"We believe based on our discussions yesterday with the Prime Minister's Office that this may have been a reference to the Nisutlin Bay Bridge project, which is partially paid for through the National Trade Corridors Fund."

A new bridge over the Yukon River in Dawson City would be a big deal. It would offer a year-round connection between the main town site, West Dawson and the Top of the World Highway, and replace the aging seasonal ferry as well the winter ice-road crossing that's become less reliable in recent years. It would be a massive construction project that would forever change the look and feel of the historic Gold Rush town.

The idea has been floated many times over the years, but has never gained significant political traction. A recent public survey of Dawson residents by the territorial government suggests a majority of Dawsonites are happy enough with things the way they are.  

The Prime Minister's Office issued a statement later on Thursday, in an attempt to clarify Trudeau's earlier comments. The statement says that there was in fact federal money set aside for the Dawson bridge in 2021, as part of a larger $135-million highway-upgrade project, but that the Yukon government had other plans. 

"In 2022, the Government of Yukon requested that the money earmarked for Dawson City's bridge be used to rebuild the existing [Nisutlin] Bridge, as it was in urgent need of replacement, given that it was nearing end-of-service-life," the statement reads.

The Nisutlin Bay Bridge project, now underway, will see the replacement of a 70-year-old bridge on the Alaska Highway at Teslin, Yukon. It's the longest bridge in the Yukon.   

Still, the federal government's website for the National Trade Corridors Fund lists "construction of a new bridge over the Yukon River in Dawson City" as part of the North Klondike highway upgrades. 

The Yukon government said on Thursday that it "has been requesting that corrections be made to this federal government website since early 2023."

To Stacey Hassard, Pelly-Nisutlin MLA with the opposition Yukon Party, the whole thing is "almost comical."

"It's just a classic case of confusion, with not only the federal Liberal government but also the territorial Liberal government as well," Hassard said.

"This isn't a case of misspeaking, this is just a simple case of the fact that the prime minister didn't know what he was talking about."

'I was doing a bit of celebrating'

For George Filipovic in West Dawson — where poor ice conditions this winter have so far prevented construction of an official river crossing — it's all a bit of a disappointment.

He would love to see a permanent bridge built, and it didn't seem that far-fetched to him that the prime minister might have made a surprise funding announcement. He wanted to believe it was true.

"I was very happy. I was looking after my friend's dog at the time, I whooped and hollered, I gave him a treat. I baked myself a very nice dinner, a steak dinner, that evening. I was doing a bit of celebrating," he recalled.

"Some people were saying, 'I think he [Trudeau] made a mistake' — but I refused to believe it."

Even on Thursday, after the Yukon government said there was no bridge on the way, Filipovic seemed reluctant to forget it. He says there's just been a lot of talk lately about the river crossing at Dawson, with the recent government survey, and what looks like another winter without a sanctioned ice road crossing.

"I've started, as I've aged, to believe in serendipity," he said. "I do kind of think that these are signs that [a bridge] is either coming, or it should be coming, or something.

"I do think it's probably coming soon. Probably."