Military not deploying to Canada-U.S. border, but is sending drones

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OTTAWA — The Canadian Armed Forces will not be sent to the Canada-U.S. border, but it will give more drones to the RCMP and assist with logistics, according to National Defence Minister Bill Blair’s office. 

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“Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members will not be deployed to the Canada-United States border,” said spokesman Andrew Green.

He said the Armed Forces “did receive a request from Public Safety Canada” to support the RCMP’s work at the border with logistics and helping the Mounties’ border task force “with contracting, training and information analysis.”

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“The (Armed Forces) also recently transferred 50 drones and will deliver 20 more to the RCMP in the coming weeks as capacity allows,” Green said.

Calls to send the military to the border rang out Monday from Opposition Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who requested Prime Minister Justin Trudeau do so as the clock ticked down to the U.S. imposing 25-per-cent tariffs on Canadian imports and 10 per cent on energy resources.

Earlier that day, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced she and Trump had agreed to a one-month delay on the 25-per-cent tariffs he planned to slap on Mexican imports after she committed to put 10,000 members of the Mexican National Guard at the border.

A Canada-U.S. trade war was ultimately averted following a second phone call between Trudeau and Trump Monday afternoon, which saw the prime minister announce the U.S. had agreed to delay its tariffs by 30 days.

In exchange, Trudeau announced on X that Canada would continue executing its six-year, $1.3-billion border security plan that his government unveiled in late 2024, adding that “nearly 10,000 frontline personnel are and will be working on protecting the border.” 

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Neither the Prime Minister’s Office nor Public Safety Minister David McGuinty’s office has provided a breakdown of those figures, but the Canada Border Services Agency, which is in charge of official ports of entry, says it has 8,500 front-line employees. The Mounties are responsible for policing between official entry points and several provinces say they have committed local police to help with those efforts, since Trump first threatened tariffs on Canadian goods last November.

Blair’s office said the military would not be involved.

While Trump has said he was imposing tariffs on Mexico and Canada over the flow of migrants and fentanyl into the U.S., Trudeau and other Canadian officials have consistently said that less that one per cent of each entering America comes from Canada.

Nonetheless, following his second phone call with Trump, Trudeau announced Canada would be appointing a “fentanyl czar.”

McGuinty, speaking from Emerson, Man., which is home to a Canada-U.S. port of entry, said on Tuesday that position would “serve as the main interlocutor between the Canadian and U.S. governments and will enhance our collaboration in combatting fentanyl.” Speaking to CBC News on Monday, the minister characterized the position as working to fight the fentanyl trade by liaising with Health Canada, as well as Global Affairs Canada, given the international connections.

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On Tuesday, he reiterated that only a tiny amount of the deadly drug enters the U.S. from Canada, but underscored that even a small amount of fentanyl is dangerous.

“What was our objective yesterday? Stop the tariffs. What’s our objective today? Stop the tariffs. What’s our objective tomorrow? Stop the tariffs,” McGuinty said.

“We’re going to do what we have to do in order to strengthen this border with your help because there’s so much on the line for everyday Canadians,” the minister told the room, which included Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew and border services agency officers.

When it comes to ensuring “24/7 eyes” on the border, as Trudeau has promised, McGuinty said in his speech Tuesday that different technologies and equipment have been deployed, like drones and Black Hawk helicopters. As for the almost 10,000 personnel, the minister said that includes existing resources and also “mobilizing law enforcement and civilian forces.”

“Through Canada’s Border Plan, we’re deploying thousands more front-line personnel to the border, launching a precursor chemical detection unit, and building a new drug profiling centre to combat the fentanyl trade. This drug trade is a global, deadly issue — and Canada is tackling it head-on,” Trudeau posted on X Tuesday. 

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Trudeau previously said his government would launch a “Canada-U.S. joint strike force” and commit to listing cartels as terrorist entities. 

Speaking to reporters, Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey said on Tuesday that because such a small amount of fentanyl enters Canada from the U.S., “it will be tough to show the president that there’s been a gigantic reduction because there’s not a gigantic start to begin with.”

Doug Ford, who is running for re-election as Ontario’s Conservative premier, said during a campaign stop in Ottawa that he agrees that Canada should “tighten that border up until it squeaks” but added that it works both ways.

He noted there are massive amounts of cocaine, heroin, opioids and illegal guns being smuggled from the U.S. across Canada’s southern border.

Ford said he met with the RCMP and the province’s provincial police, the OPP, who he says has more than 200 officers “ready to go” to help the federal government’s efforts at the border.

“Everyone’s pitching in. That’s the way it should work. It’s not one-sided here.”

National Post, with additional reporting from Catherine Levesque
staylor@postmedia.com

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