Canada bracing for 'tough' talks as Trump's pick calls northern border an 'extreme vulnerability'

The Canadian government is aware it's likely in for "tough conversations" with U.S. president-elect Donald Trump's administration, after his border czar said there is "an extreme national security vulnerability" he intends to tackle at the Canada-U.S. border.

It was the first issue discussed, and a dominant focus at today's Cabinet Committee on Canada-U.S. Relations, according to its lead, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, who repeatedly sought to offer assurances that the Liberal government takes the border "very, very seriously."

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In an interview with 7News, Trump's new border lead Tom Homan was asked about instances of people walking across the border from Canada, and how that compares to the situation at the southern border.

Homan responded by stating that after the current administration reallocated resources to deal with those coming in from Mexico, the agents left at the Canada-U.S. border are "overwhelmed," and "overrun."

"The problem with the northern border is a huge national security issue," he said.

Homan said that's because "special interest aliens from countries that sponsor terror," have the organizational and financial capacity to fly to Canada to come into the U.S. because they know there are fewer officers stationed up north.

"It's an extreme national security vulnerability… and it's one of the things I'll tackle as soon as I'm in the White House."

"When it comes to our southern border and the U.S.'s northern border, you see there the alignment of interests in making sure that it is safe, that it is secure," Immigration Minister Marc Miller told reporters on Wednesday. "I expect there to be some tough conversations," he said.

Miller said Canada does, and will continue to, apprehend individuals who cross the border "in an irregular fashion, or in a fashion where they're not entitled to" enter the country. He also said the government will continue to work in the interest of its citizens, which he sees as being aligned with the view of both the current and incoming U.S. administrations.

Trump has tapped Homan – a former Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director and "Project 2025" contributor – to oversee America's northern and southern borders.

In vowing to address the issue "right off the bat," Homan said he expects "tough conversations" with Canada and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to ensure immigration laws are enforced.

"There needs to be some negotiation between the two governments… there has to be an understanding from Canada that they can't be a gateway to terrorists coming into the United States."

In an interview with CTV's Power Play on Wednesday, Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc said he didn't agree with Homan's characterization of how Canada manages its border.

"I think we work successfully with the Americans over decades to manage this… long, undefended border. I'm briefed regularly," he said, later adding that it's not "an open buffet" for those wanting to come to Canada, and if it's done illegally, they will face law enforcement.

Homan will also be the lead on Trumps' plan for mass deportations and has already warned those in the U.S. illegally to "start packing."

Miller said he has yet to speak with Homan directly, but he looks forward to doing so.

"We have had, over the last number of years, volumes of asylum seekers coming into Canada, for example, in historically high numbers. [For] a lot of reasons that have very little to do with Canada," Miller said, adding that the federal government will continue to mange its immigration flow "regardless" of who is in power south of the border.

According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), nearly 24,000 encounters with migrants were recorded between posts on the Canada-U.S. border between October 2023 and September 2024, which is a significant surge compared to 916 encounters during that same period in 2021.

U.S. border officials refer to an "encounter" as someone who is inadmissible to the U.S., or when border patrol officers find someone who has illegally crossed the border into the U.S. between border posts.

When asked about efforts to address that sharp increase, LeBlanc said the numbers “will come down.”

Leblanc also insisted the RCMP will be given more resources to deal with human smuggling at the border.

“The commissioner of the RCMP tells me that he's going to be ramping up and re-affecting different resources as the needs arise,” Leblanc said.

Tom Homan speaks as Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump listens at a primary election night party in Nashua, N.H., Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024. (Matt Rourke / The Associated Press)

Canada concerned over U.S. asylum surge

These cross-border comments come as Canada is bracing for a potential new surge of asylum claims coming from the U.S. to Canada, as a result of Trump's vow to send millions of undocumented immigrants back to "their country of origin."

Within days Trump's re-election, the RCMP confirmed it was "on high alert" and prepared contingency plans for all outcomes, including a potential huge influx of asylum seekers crossing the border ahead of Trump's inauguration.

The plan includes deploying more RCMP officers along the border, buying or renting space to temporarily hold migrants, purchasing more police vehicles, and leaning on resources from other provinces as they did following the 2016 election.

Though, this planning comes amid understaffing concerns from the union representing front-line customs and immigration officers at Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).

The Customs and Immigration Union (CIU) has said it would need between 2,000 and 3,000 additional officers in order to effectively do their job.

In an interview with CTV's Power Play on Wednesday, CIU National President Mark Weber said the union has been raising staffing concerns “for a long time.”

“We've been making that case at every opportunity for years,” Weber told host Vassy Kapelos.

Asked to respond to this, LeBlanc said the senior executives who run the CBSA have a different position. "The CBSA has very effective controls at recognized border crossings," he said.

Weber also called Homan’s description of the Canada-U.S. border as a national security issue “concerning.”

“Time will tell you know as to what the effect will be at our borders with statements like that,” Weber said.

During Trump's first term a wave of asylum seekers began entering Canada illegally, utilizing a loophole in the Safe Third Country Agreement that required people to claim asylum in whichever country they came to first.

At the time, Trudeau publicly declared that those "fleeing persecution, terror & war," would be welcome in Canada.

However, in recent years the Canadian government has begun taking a more restrictive approach to immigration.

Last year, in conjunction with U.S. President Joe Biden's visit to Canada, the two administrations modified the Safe Third Country Agreement and closed what had been a much-used crossing at Roxham Road in Quebec.

Miller said he expects the U.S. to continue to abide by the Safe Third Country Agreement to manage the flow of migrants.

"It is in the national interest of both countries to make sure that that we have managed flows of migration," Miller said.

Further, this fall, Trudeau announced a major cut to Canada's immigration targets.

Referencing comments Miller made earlier in the week, LeBlanc said the government's current position is "not everyone is welcome to come to Canada in an irregular pathway."

With files from CTV News' Joy Malbon, Judy Trinh and Joe Lofaro