Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised President-elect Donald Trump that he would improve security on the northern border, a senior Canadian government official said.
The news follows Trudeau’s visit to Florida last week to meet with the incoming U.S. president at his Mar-a-Lago property. Canada’s Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc said they discussed security enhancements that Canada would commit to taking.
“We’re going to look to procure, for example, additional drones, additional police helicopters, we’re going to redeploy personnel,” LeBlanc told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp, per Reuters.
“It’s important, I think, to show Canadians and the Americans that we’re stepping up in a visible and muscular way, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do,” he added.
Under the current U.S. and Canadian administrations, illegal entries from Canada into the United States have hit a record high. Between fiscal 2021 and July 2024, nearly 151,000 individuals illegally entered or attempted to enter the U.S.
The apparent cordial meeting between Trump and Trudeau contrasts with previous comments each has made about the other.
In a 2018 post on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, Trump criticized Trudeau following a G7 meeting.
“PM Justin Trudeau of Canada acted so meek and mild during our @G7 meetings only to give a news conference after I left saying that, ‘US Tariffs were kind of insulting’ and he ‘will not be pushed around.’ Very dishonest & weak. Our Tariffs are in response to his of 270% on dairy!” Trump wrote at the time.
The latest visit from Trudeau may also be motivated by concerns over forthcoming tariffs under the Trump administration.
On November 25, Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social, stating that he would apply a 25% tax on all goods imported from Canada and Mexico unless the countries halted the “invasion” of drugs into the U.S., “in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens.”