Latest measures by the federal authorities to strengthen its border security and reply complaints by U.S. President Donald Trump are begin however don’t go far sufficient in fixing long-standing points, former border brokers from each Canada and the U.S. say.
Ottawa has invested over $1 billion in new gear and safety measures to fight drug trafficking and irregular migration in a bid to avert sweeping tariffs from Trump, who has tied his commerce menace to issues about fentanyl particularly. The tariffs are set to go forward on Tuesday, Trump mentioned final week after suggesting Canada has not carried out sufficient.
Whereas the brand new investments are welcome and are having some impacts, former Canada Border Providers Company (CBSA) official Kelly Sundberg says there must be a extra coordinated and forward-looking strategy to frame safety.
“I’ve heard a number of grumbling (from CBSA members) with reference to how disorganized and chaotic issues have been,” he advised Mercedes Stephenson in an interview that aired Sunday on The West Block.
“The actual fact of the matter is, we’ve uncared for our border and border safety and migration safety for a really very long time. Now pressures from Donald Trump are exposing these issues, however we should always have carried out much more with border safety earlier than.”
Trump first threatened to impose 25 per cent tariffs on Canada and Mexico, with 10 per cent levies on Canadian power merchandise, on Feb. 4. He then paused them for 30 days however mentioned the tariffs would return if each international locations don’t considerably scale back medicine and migrants flowing into the U.S. in that point.
Get breaking Nationwide information
For information impacting Canada and world wide, join breaking information alerts delivered on to you once they occur.
Canada has sought to spotlight the progress it has made on the border and in disrupting the manufacturing and trafficking of fentanyl in conferences with U.S. officers all through the month-long grace interval.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and cupboard ministers have mentioned fentanyl seizures on the border have dropped 90 per cent over the previous month, one thing the White Home highlighted in a readout of Trump’s call with Trudeau last weekend.
However Trump claimed on Thursday that Canada hasn’t made progress on stopping fentanyl “in any respect” and must be making “much more” seizures.
Data from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency exhibits that in January, fentanyl seizures on the Canada-U.S. border dropped to their lowest ranges since 2023, with lower than 14 grams seized in the course of the month. Over 19 kilograms of fentanyl from Canada had been apprehended within the final fiscal 12 months.
Former CBP officer Keith Cozine mentioned encounters of migrants and medicines on the border sometimes drop in the course of the winter months, and it isn’t clear but if final month’s lower — which he mentioned is “not close to the numbers that the Canadian authorities is claiming” — is any totally different.
“A few of the efforts which can be being put in place on the Canadian aspect of the border goes to assist, however there’s a lot extra they should do to safe up that border,” he mentioned.
In line with U.S. and Canadian authorities knowledge, lower than one per cent of the fentanyl getting into the U.S. comes from Canada. Round six per cent of irregular migrant encounters had been on the northern U.S. border within the final two fiscal years, according to CBP data.
The state of affairs “pales compared to what we’re seeing from Mexico,” Cozine acknowledged, which is the place most U.S. border safety assets are being deployed.
But Sundberg mentioned lots of the safety threats posed to Canada on the border nonetheless want addressing. These vary from stopping unlawful gun trafficking from the U.S., to boosting safety checks of delivery containers arriving by boat or prepare, to growing biodata screening of individuals arriving at ports of entry.
“Now we have had an honour-based migration program for fairly a while,” he mentioned. “However the subject is that it uncovered us to some important threats, while you couple that with the hyper influx of overseas nationals by means of our short-term visa packages.”
Cozine agreed that the largest subject for joint Canada-U.S. border safety is at official factors of entry, with the U.S. typically stopping individuals who enter Canada with the intention of then heading south.
“There’s very, little or no screening of individuals getting into (Canada) while you evaluate to United States,” he mentioned. “This downside is just not going to go away till they shore up border safety on the ports of entry.”
Sundberg added extra CBSA brokers are wanted to take away individuals who pose a safety danger or fail to depart the nation when required.
“The fact is we solely have 400 officers nationally which can be tasked with figuring out, arresting and eradicating illegal non-citizens,” he mentioned. “4 hundred people for the scale of our nation and for the volumes we’re , it’s theatre.”
He mentioned the adjustments wanted would require laws to amend legal guidelines just like the Immigration Refugee Safety Act, the Customs Act, the Felony Code and the Canada Border Providers Company Act.
That final statute must be amended to remodel the CBSA into the “Canada Border Safety Company,” he mentioned, and set up impartial oversight — one thing he argues might have highlighted the challenges Canada now faces years in the past.
“Canada has a number of work to do in making certain our sovereignty,” Sundberg mentioned.
“It’s time to cease doing press releases and truly begin defending our border.”
© 2025 International Information, a division of Corus Leisure Inc.
Source link