The Government of Canada publicly unveiled a border security plan they had privately presented to US President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration, with an emphasis on surveillance, intelligence and technology.
Canadian ministers had an “encouraging” meeting with Trump’s border czar Tom Homan, Public Safety, Finance and Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc told reporters.
“I went through with Mr Homan the information that we’re sharing with you today… I’m encouraged by that conversation and by conversations I’ve had with the incoming Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick,” LeBlanc said.
LeBlanc and his colleagues announced a plan to beef up the US-Canada border with helicopters, drones, surveillance towers, and sniffer dogs, as well as a “joint strike force” to target transnational organized crime.
The embattled minority government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says it will invest C$1.3 billion (S$1.22 billion) toward border security over six years. The plan focuses on fentanyl, irregular migration, and organized crime.
Canada has been under pressure to beef up its border with the US since Trump threatened Canada and Mexico with sweeping 25 percent tariffs if they did not stem the movement of migrants and drugs into the United States.
US authorities apprehended more than 23,000 people near the US-Canada border in the 12 months ending in October, more than double the previous year but a tiny fraction of the 1.5 million people apprehended near the US-Mexico border during that time.
Canadian police say they have installed more cameras and sensors over the most-traversed section of the border over the past four years.