Poilievre Calls for Boosted Border Patrols and Enhanced CBSA Responsibilities Amid Looming US Tariffs
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).
“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.”
‘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.
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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.
He also urged the deployment of more towers and scanners at the border, in addition to the use of helicopters and drones.
‘Weak Inspections’
With 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.”
“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.
