Ontario Initiates Border Security Operation Amid Tariff Threats from Trump
Ontario is launching an initiative to bolster border security with the United States as the country faces tariff threats from the incoming U.S. administration.
Dubbed
Operation Deterrence
, the program targets illegal border crossings and the trafficking of drugs and firearms. Premier Doug Ford described the program as the province’s contribution to addressing cross-border illegal activity, an issue that has been brought to the fore since incoming U.S. President Donald Trump vowed last year to slap tariffs on all Canadian goods if Ottawa doesn’t beef up security.
Operation Deterrence
, the program targets illegal border crossings and the trafficking of drugs and firearms. Premier Doug Ford described the program as the province’s contribution to addressing cross-border illegal activity, an issue that has been brought to the fore since incoming U.S. President Donald Trump vowed last year to slap tariffs on all Canadian goods if Ottawa doesn’t beef up security.
“Ontario has been calling on the federal government to step up and address safety and security concerns at the border,” Ford said in a Jan. 7
press release
. “We need to see words turned into visible action. In the meantime, Ontario is stepping up with Operation Deterrence.”
press release
. “We need to see words turned into visible action. In the meantime, Ontario is stepping up with Operation Deterrence.”
Part of that action, Ford said, are the 6,000 hours of focused patrols conducted by Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officers since Dec. 6, 2024.
Operation Deterrence includes a team of 200 officers who will work alongside frontline and speciality officers to identify, disrupt, and deter illegal border activities, Ford
said
in a social media post. The initiative will leverage fixed wing aircraft, helicopters, drones, boats, off-road vehicles, and foot patrol.
said
in a social media post. The initiative will leverage fixed wing aircraft, helicopters, drones, boats, off-road vehicles, and foot patrol.
It will focus on areas outside the 14 official border crossings staffed by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and complements existing efforts, such as the OPP’s Joint Forces Border Drug Interdiction Task Force, to protect the Ontario-U.S. border and combat cross-border illegal activity, the province said in the release.
