An escalation in trade tensions with Canada was likely on few people’s bingo cards for 2024, but the Trump-Trudeau face-off continues on weeks after the U.S. president-elect threatened the country with 25-percent tariffs.
Canada is hoping to head off the threat with a new plan which would funnel up to $1 billion into border security measures. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with provincial and territorial leaders from across Canada on Wednesday to discuss the strategy, which will likely include the use of drones and canine units.
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According to multiple reports, the Canadian government is also considering investing in new lab technology to better detect fentanyl and chemical precursors, as well as beefing up its databases with better information collection about border crossings.
President-elect Donald Trump ignited panic within the governments of both of the U.S.’ North American trade partners several weeks ago when he took to Truth Social to sketch out a plan for dealing with America’s fentanyl crisis and the “Invasion” of the U.S. by “Illegal Aliens.” Trump threatened both Mexico and Canada with new duties starting on day one of his second term.
Trudeau has spoken with Trump multiple times since his Thanksgiving-week social media rant, attempting to persuade the incoming Commander in Chief that tariffs on Canadian products would hurt U.S. citizens by driving up prices on a multitude of imported goods.
While the Canadian border sees far fewer illegal crossings than the U.S.-Mexico border, migration has accelerated in recent years. According to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), 19,000 people have been arrested crossing the border from Canada into the U.S. this year—amounting to roughly the same number as the past 17 years combined.
However, the incoming administration’s claims about fentanyl entering the U.S. from Canada are overblown; of the more than 21,000 pounds of fentanyl seized by CBP in 2024, just 43 pounds were intercepted at the Canadian border.
The Western Canadian province of Alberta has wasted no time in announcing its particular plans for cracking down on migration. On Thursday, Premier Danielle Smith announced that the province will spend $29 million on an Interdiction Patrol Team led by the Alberta Sheriffs. It will be staffed by 51 uniformed officers, four drug patrol dogs and 10 support staff, along with 10 surveillance drones and four narcotics analyzers, according to Canadian news outlet CBC. The team’s goal will be to intercept people, firearms and drugs at the Northern border.
“Together with federal law enforcement, we’ll ensure that our section of the American border is well-protected,” Smith said. “We’ll deny safe haven to criminals looking to operate in both countries, and if we succeed and maintain proper border security, I expect we’ll have a very strong relationship with the United States as we always have.”
Other Canadian premiers are taking a more aggressive stance, hitting back at Trump’s tariff bluster with threats of their own.
Following Wednesday’s meeting with other Canadian leaders, Ontario Premier Doug Ford told reporters that the province would consider stopping all energy exports to the U.S. if Trump follows through with new duties.
“We will go to the full extent depending how far this goes. We will go to the extent of cutting off their energy, going down to Michigan, going down to New York State and over to Wisconsin,” he said, according to the AP. “I don’t want this to happen, but my No. 1 job is to protect Ontario, Ontarians and Canadians as a whole since we’re the largest province.”
About 60 percent of U.S. crude oil imports come from Canada, along with 85 percent of electricity exports, AP reported. According to an email from Ford’s spokesperson that was viewed by the outlet, energy from Ontario powered 1.5 million American homes last year, many in Michigan, Minnesota and New York.
“This fight is 100 percent coming” on Jan. 20 or Jan 21, Ford told reporters. “We will use every tool in our tool box to fight back. We can’t sit back and roll over. We just won’t as a country. And isn’t this a shame, our closest friends and allies.”
