OTTAWA 鈥� Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has demanded the federal government present a plan before Parliament to beef up border security as U.S. president-elect Donald Trump threatens to impose stiff tariffs on sa国际传媒.
The plan should include measures to increase patrols and technology to crack down on illegal drug trafficking, as well as tightening visa rules and working with provincial law enforcement, Poilievre told a news conference on Sunday.
"The reality is that Trudeau has lost control of the deficit, of immigration and of our border. In less than two months, President Trump will come into office. He's threatened the possibility of imposing tariffs unless there is action to address Trudeau's broken border," he said.
With gridlock in Parliament set to continue, Poilievre said Conservatives "will make accommodations to quickly pass a border plan if it goes towards fixing Trudeau's broken border."
He said sa国际传媒 should also cap the number of asylum seekers as it faces a significant influx in refugee claims.
sa国际传媒 had nearly 250,000 refugee claims in the queue as of Sept. 30, 2024, having approved more than 33,000 claims between January and the end of September.
In all of 2023, sa国际传媒 accepted 37,000 refugee claims, and in 2022, it accepted 28,000.
"I love real refugees," Poilievre said. "Our country was built in large part by real refugees who were genuinely fleeing danger, like my wife. But I have no time for people who lie to come into our country, and that is the problem we have to cut off."
Trump has threatened to slap a 25 per cent tariff on imports from sa国际传媒 and Mexico unless the two countries stop illegal border crossings and prevent illicit drugs such as fentanyl from entering the United States.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had dinner with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Friday, a meeting the president-elect later described as "very productive."
sa国际传媒's ambassador to the U.S. Kirsten Hillman said in an interview with the Associated Press on Sunday that Trudeau's talk with Trump focused mainly on the border, with Trudeau assuring Trump was aware of the differences between the sa国际传媒-U.S. border and United States-Mexico border.
Sources say the two men also discussed trade, Ukraine, NATO, icebreakers, the Middle East and the Group of Seven meeting in Alberta next year.
Trump's presidential inauguration is scheduled for Jan. 20.
In a statement, NDP public safety critic Alistair MacGregor said the Conservative government under Stephen Harper fired 1,100 border officers, "allowing toxic drugs and illegal guns to flow into sa国际传媒."
"Conservatives cut, and that makes us all less safe," MacGregor said.
The cuts to the sa国际传媒 Border Services Agency took place in 2012.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 1, 2024.
Nojoud Al Mallees, The Canadian Press
