Poilievre Urges Increased Border Patrols, Expanded CBSA Mandate as US Tariffs Loom

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre holds a press conference in Ottawa on Dec. 1, 2024. The Canadian Press/Justin Tang

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is demanding that the federal government ramp up border security by increasing ground patrols and expanding the mandate of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).

Speaking at a press conference in Ottawa on Dec. 1, Poilievre called for “boots on the ground” and stronger border security measures to protect Canada’s economic and security interests.

“I am calling on the government to fix [Prime Minister Justin] Trudeau’s broken border,” Poilievre told reporters.

“I’m demanding that the Trudeau government quickly present a Canada-first plan to Parliament that includes increased patrols, working with provincial law enforcement, developing new technology, cracking down on illegal drug production and trafficking, tightening visas, securing our ports, and expanding the mandate of CBSA officers to fix the broken border.”

Poilievre’s comment came after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s recent announcement of his plans to slap a 25 percent tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico unless the two countries stop illegal border crossings and the flow of illicit drugs such as fentanyl into the United States.

The threats triggered concerns among Canada’s provincial leaders, with premiers and industry groups saying more should be done to avoid the tariffs and their detrimental impacts on the Canadian economy.

The federal government has said it’s going to bolster border security and hold discussions to avoid the tariffs. On Nov. 29, Trudeau paid a visit to Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

‘Should Be Doing It for Our Own Country’

The dinner at Trump’s estate in Palm Beach, which reportedly lasted three hours, brought together several senior Canadian officials and Trump’s nominees for key posts in his incoming administration.

On Nov. 30, the president-elect wrote in a post on Truth Social that he had a “very productive meeting” with Trudeau and that the two had discussed many issues, including the fentanyl and drug crisis, illegal immigration, fair trade deals, and the “massive Trade Deficit the U.S. has with Canada.”

Trudeau likewise told reporters on Nov. 30 that an “excellent conversation” unfolded during the dinner. In a post on social media platform X on the same day, Trudeau thanked Trump for the meeting, saying “I look forward to the work we can do together, again.”

Poilievre says that even if Trump had not called for those actions, Canada should have done so in the first place. “We should be doing it for our own country and for our own interests,” he said at the Dec. 1 press conference.

The Tory leader proposed that Ottawa temporarily deputizes provincial police officers to help federal agents strengthen security at the border—a plan that Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Ontario Premier Doug Ford have said they are prepared to implement.

Poilievre also urged the deployment of more towers and scanners at the border, in addition to the use of helicopters and drones.

‘Weak Inspections’

With a gridlock in Parliament set to continue, Poilievre said the Conservatives “will make accommodations to quickly pass a border plan if it goes towards fixing Trudeau’s broken border.” The Conservatives have raised a privilege motion about a green-tech fund found to have misspent government money, and are demanding the government release  unredacted documents related to the issue, which the Liberals have refused. Since privilege issues take priority over other business in the House of Commons, debate on this issue prevents the minority government from advancing other legislation in the House.

In an interview with CBC on Dec. 1, Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, who had accompanied Trudeau at his Nov. 29 dinner with Trump, said his government has assured the president-elect that Canada will procure more drones and helicopters and redeploy personnel to strengthen security on its side of the Canada-U.S. border.

“We’re also concerned about guns. We talked about it with the Americans, about our concern about gun smuggling coming from the south towards the north,” LeBlanc said.

Poilievre said during the press conference that the reason American guns are being smuggled into Canada is “weak inspections” at the border under Trudeau’s leadership.

Asked if he believes it’s time to put a cap on the number of asylum-seekers, Poilievre said it’s time to eliminate “all of the abuse” of Canada’s refugee system.

“We need to shut off the flow of false refugee claims who are in no danger in their country of origin, but who are sneaking in either through our porous border, through our weak visa system, and then when they land here, making a false claim,” he told reporters.

Omid Ghoreishi, The Canadian Press, and Tom Ozimek contributed to this report.