Moroun, Ambassador Bridge company turned to ex-Harper aides’ firm to lobby Canadian officials

The billionaire U.S. owners of the busiest land border crossing in North America turned to a high-powered lobbying firm run by former top aides to Prime Minister Stephen Harper in recent years, records show. 

The Moroun family, which has controlled the Ambassador Bridge connecting Ontario and Michigan for decades, has aggressively opposed the construction of the nearby Gordie Howe International Bridge, which, once open, is expected to shrink their toll revenue. 

That opposition seemed to hit a breakthrough last month, when U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to block the opening of the new, publicly owned span. The threat came after Matthew Moroun reportedly landed a meeting with a key member of Trump’s cabinet.

But less is known about the Moroun’s influence efforts in the Canadian capital. Now, a CBC Windsor analysis of federal lobbying records shows that in the years before the Morouns amped up their lobbying in Washington, they made a similar effort in Ottawa.

In 2022, the Ambassador bridge company hired a firm called Wellington Advocacy to arrange discussions with public officials about “efficient access and operational matters.”

The firm is run by several former senior Harper officials, including ex-chief of staff Ray Novak — officials who would have worked closely with the prime minister while he championed the publicly funded Gordie Howe bridge project.

Ian Stedman, an expert in government ethics and accountability at York University, says he isn’t surprised that Wellington Advocacy would take on a client whose interests might be the opposite of those held by the Harper officials while in government.

“The job is to try to influence government behaviour and government policy, and you do that on behalf of your clients. You don't generally stick with a particular position on an issue for the rest of your career,” he said. 

“You eat what you kill, so to speak.” 

There is no indication that the lobbying had any tangible effect on public officials on this side of the border, where political support for the new bridge is broad.

Still, the analysis lays bare another chapter in the powerful Moroun family’s political influence efforts — at a time when those efforts in the U.S. are under intense scrutiny.

Neither Wellington Advocacy nor Matthew Moroun responded to requests for comment. 

The Canadian lobbying disclosures show the Detroit International Bridge Company — the Ambassador Bridge’s parent company — has three people actively registered to lobby on its behalf, all of whom work for Wellington Advocacy. Matthew Moroun is listed as an individual with a “direct interest” in the lobbying outcome.

One of those lobbyists is Andrea van Vugt, Wellington’s chief operating officer and trade practice lead. She previously served as Harper’s foreign affairs and trade advisor, and is listed online as global director at Harper & Associates, the former prime minister’s consulting firm.