News
Canada’s Premiers Criticize Trudeau Over Border Security
Canada’s premiers are pressing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to increase border security and defense expenditure to appease US President-elect Donald Trump. Ontario Premier Doug Ford criticized the Trudeau government for being “slow to react” and “stuck on its back foot.”
Ford said at a meeting of the premiers on Wednesday that he has been pressuring Trudeau’s government for months to demonstrate that Canada is concerned about US economic and security issues.
He claimed Trudeau has just not responded swiftly enough.
“I expressed my hope that meeting is the start of a more proactive approach from the Trudeau government, including by showing that it takes the security of our border seriously,” Ford said in a news release. If it does not, he warns, it will lead to the “economic chaos of Trump tariffs.”
The frank declaration, issued following a meeting that Trudeau hoped would unite premiers under a “Team Canada” flag to reject the tariff threat, highlights a critical problem for Trudeau during a second Trump term.
Trudeau Should Take Tougher Action
Trudeau faced Canada’s premiers, who were armed with numerous grievances about his awful policies and concerns about his previous statements regarding President-elect Trump and its potential impact on Canadian industry.
Premier Ford was joined by Quebec Premier Francois Legault, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, and Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew in calling on Trudeau to take tougher action.
Legault, for his part, has long expressed concern about migrants entering his province from the United States, while Smith used the occasion to criticize Trudeau’s oil and gas emissions cap.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc came from the premiers’ meeting to underline their plans to strengthen border security.
LeBlanc stated that this would include investments in law enforcement and local police, although he did not provide cash amounts or dates.
Trudeau requested the meeting this week after several province leaders expressed concern about Trump’s threat to put tariffs on Canada if Trudeau did not stop the flow of illegal immigrants crossing the border into the United States.
NATO Spending
All of Canada’s premiers asked for more law enforcement funding. Alberta and Ontario leaders have committed to utilizing local police forces to improve border security, and Manitoba’s premier, Kinew, stated that the federal government told him he would receive new resources.
Kinew also pressed Canada to spend at least 2% of its GDP on defense, a goal it pledged as a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member. In a speech on Monday, Trudeau reiterated Canada’s commitment to meeting that aim by 2032.
His remarks came after U.S. Republican Congressman Mike Turner called Trudeau a “threat” to NATO’s stability and success, claiming Canada’s defense spending and military commitments are insufficient.
Turner added that Canada, as a founding member, should “lead by example” for newer members, noting that Sweden, which joined only this year, intends to fulfill the 2% objective this year.
In February, Trudeau committed to defending Canada’s “interests,” but he avoided criticizing Trump after the former president reaffirmed his warning to abandon NATO nations such as Canada that fail to meet their defense expenditure requirements.
Former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg even complimented President Trump for his ‘clear message’ about the need for all NATO countries to invest in national security.
He said that Trump has strengthened NATO, whereas Trudeau has “undermined it” by failing to meet the two percent GDP spending target.
Trudeau and Canada’s attempts to defend Ukraine were also called into doubt, with claims that Trudeau “provided tepid military assistance.”
