With Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January, Canadian government officials say they have a “plan” to ensure the country’s border security and control who enters the country.
Speaking on Wednesday, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said the government is focused on Canada’s borders and the potential impacts of what could come next.
“What’s important for Canadians is control of our borders and that’s something that’s really important, it’s essential,” she said.
“I want to assure Canadians that we fully understand the importance of border security and controlling our borders, controlling who comes into Canada and who doesn’t.”
“What I expect is that Canadians expect us to control our borders,” she added. Canadians rightly believe it should be a decision for Canada and Canadians who come to our country and who doesn’t, and that’s something we certainly have a plan to ensure.
In the run-up to his election victory, Trump announced a variety of policies that could have a potential impact on Canada, including a promise to deport millions of illegal immigrants from the United States.
Experts who spoke with Global News said this promise could spark fear for illegal immigrants to flee to Canada and thus overwhelm borders and social services in provinces and territories.
Get daily national news
Get the day’s top political, economic and current affairs news, headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
Such an increase was seen during Trump’s first term, when changes to temporary protected status for Haitians who fled to the United States led to an influx of migrants seeking asylum at the Roxham Road border crossing into Quebec due to a loophole in the safe third country agreement.
This led to the expansion of the Safe Third Country Agreement between the United States and Canada last year.
Housing Minister Sean Fraser, who previously held the immigration portfolio and negotiated a change to that agreement, told reporters that the federal government had “significant concerns about the integrity of the border.”
“We want to make sure we can have responsible policies,” he said. “These challenges exist in different contexts under different administrations.”
He stressed the need to recognize the open trade relationship with the United States and the importance of having “enhanced borders” that can help the two countries succeed.
“Canadians want to ensure the integrity of the border between Canada and the United States and, frankly, at all our ports of entry,” he said. “But at the same time, we foster a culture that creates economic opportunity by embracing trade, which, by the way, is the largest and most important trading relationship we have.”
Quebec Premier Francois Legault warned that the province “risks being exposed to unrest” in the coming months with the election of Trump, and called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to take the matter seriously.
Canada could face steep tariffs from Trump
Trump has also proposed imposing blanket tariffs of between 10 and 20 percent on all foreign imports except goods from China, which he says would face tariffs of at least 60 percent.
In response to a question about the potential impact, Freeland said that the government has a plan, but added that there is importance to maintaining its relationship with its southern neighbor.
This relationship has led to “win-win” outcomes such as the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Trade Agreement (CUSMA), but when it comes to the labor market, the two countries see something “mutually beneficial,” she said.
“We build things together, and Canadian workers are not undermining American workers,” she said. “We have similar labor and environmental standards, and we are both from high-wage countries.
“These fundamentals are really important and are the foundation of the good relationship we have had in the past and the good relationship we will maintain and build in the future.”
Although the federal government says it is prepared, Jamie Gunn, chief economist at Desjardins, recently told Global News that Trump’s potential second term in office would be “more turbulent” than Kamala Harris’ regime could have seen, and may even lead to… Recession. In Canada.
— With files from Global News’ Sean Boynton and Kalina Laframboise
&Copy 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
