Ottawa Will ‘Do the Work’ to Reassure US on Border Security: Public Safety Minister

Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs Dominic LeBlanc rises during question period, in Ottawa, on June 17, 2024. The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld

Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc said Ottawa will work with the incoming Trump administration on border security, following comments from the newly appointed U.S. “border czar,” who said illegal immigration at the countries’ shared border poses a “huge national security issue.”

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump announced Nov. 11 that former Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting director Tom Homan would be in charge of the nation’s borders and coordinate deportation operations. In an interview with TV network WWNY Homan said border patrol agents at the Canada-U.S. border are “overwhelmed” with migrants.

LeBlanc said Ottawa shares the Americans’ concerns that the border can be a source of “potential violent extremists crossing from Canada into the United States, or vice versa.”

“We’ll reassure the American administration that we’re prepared to do the work that’s necessary,” LeBlanc said during a Nov. 17 interview on Global News’ The West Block.

Trump, who was president from 2016 to 2020, won the Nov. 5, 2024, election following a campaign that focused heavily on illegal immigration. He has promised to implement the “largest deportation operation in American history” when he takes office in January of 2025, going after what the Department of Homeland Security has estimated is 11 million illegal immigrants living in the country.

LeBlanc said he has had “reassuring” conversations on border security with the RCMP and Canada Border Services Agency, during which he indicated Ottawa is open to increasing resources for border security if needed.

LeBlanc said while a global increase in migration had led to Canada and other countries to face illegal immigration challenges, the federal government has already increased resources to deal with them. He pointed to an estimated 15,000 deportations that were carried out in Canada in 2023, as well as a 600 percent increase in investigations by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada into fraudulent visa applications.

“We’ve said over and over again that if you want to come to Canada, you have to come according to a lawful pathway,” he said. “If you come to Canada illegally or under a fraudulent misrepresentation, you will be detained, turned around, and removed.”

The Canada-U.S. border has seen a growing number of “migrant encounters,” which refers to apprehensions of migrants who cross into the U.S. without authorization, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, noting the number has risen from 109,535 in 2022 to 198,929 in 2024.

The RCMP said it has prepared a contingency plan for an increased number of illegal immigrants entering Canada following mass deportations in the U.S., with scenarios ranging from a small uptick in illegal migration to a “complete crisis.”

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said Canadians can be confident that the government has control of the 9,000-kilometre border.

“We absolutely recognize the importance of border security and of controlling your own border, of controlling who comes into Canada and who doesn’t,” she said during a Nov. 6 press conference. “And we will do that.”