Federal, provincial politicians stress importance of Canada-U.S. trade, security at border pit stop

Posted on February 4, 2025 by Peggy

Federal and provincial politicians made a stop at the Canada-U.S. border in Manitoba on Tuesday, after tariffs of 25 per cent on Canadian exports to the U.S. that were set to take effect that day were put on pause.

Federal Public Safety Minister David McGuinty took the opportunity to stress the importance of trade between the two countries — and repeated how Canada plans to strengthen its side of the border, including a previously announced $1.3-billion border security plan that includes reinforcing the 49th parallel with new choppers, technology and personnel.

The drive to strengthen border security follows U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian imports, which he claimed was in response to concerns about border security, migrants and illegal drugs, especially fentanyl. Tariffs at that level could devastate Canada’s economy.

“We have a choice to make between two countries. We can win-win, or we can lose-lose. We think it’s better to win-win,” McGuinty said, adding he’s had calls from constituents in tears wondering how the tariffs were going to affect their lives.

“This is real for us. It’s real. And we’re making that very well known in the United States, in D.C. and at the White House.”

Trudeau said Canada would also be stepping up its co-ordination with American officials to crack down on Trump’s stated priorities: illegal drugs and migrants.

Trudeau said, all told, there will be 10,000 front-line personnel working along the border as part of a push to make it safer.

The prime minister also made a series of new commitments to Trump, including a promise to appoint a new fentanyl “czar.” And he promised to list Mexican cartels, the top purveyors of fentanyl and other drugs in Canada and the U.S., as terrorists under Canadian law.

Trudeau said Canada is launching a “Canada-U.S. Joint Strike Force,” that will be tasked with fighting organized crime and money laundering — and he’s kicking in $200 million in funding to get it off the ground.

McGuinty also noted that while less than one per cent of the fentanyl that finds its way into the U.S. comes through Canada, it’s still an important issue to address.

“President Trump has a job to do. Let me just be clear about this for a second. He ran in an election, he had a platform, he made promises to his people and in his mind he’s delivering on those promises. We need to be respectful of that. But we also have to co-operate and deal with some of these challenges that we’ve dealt with for 150 years together,” McGuinty said.

Figures from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) show the agency seized 19.5 kilograms of fentanyl at the northern border last year, compared to 9,570 kilograms at the southwestern one.

But that hasn’t stopped Trump from demanding Canada take a harder line on the drug, which is the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18 to 45, according to the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics.

Minister McGuinty appeared at the news conference alongside Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew and MP Terry Duguid, the federal minister responsible for the Prairies, at an appearance that included a show-and-tell for reporters by border officials involving a scanner capable of detecting substances such as fentanyl.

A blue machine with a screen. — Minister McGuinty appeared at the news conference alongside Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew and MP Terry Duguid, the federal minister responsible for the Prairies, at an appearance that included a show-and-tell for reporters by border officials involving a scanner capable of detecting substances such as fentanyl. (Bartley Kives/CBC)

Duguid noted some of the many items exported from Manitoba to the U.S., including buses and oats, and said Canadian officials must still be vigilant about the threat of the promised tariffs, which he said “had the potential to be incredibly disruptive.”

“We got a bit of a reprieve, but that threat still hangs over us,” he said.

Premier Kinew said the work being done to strengthen the border “is going to be integral to us strengthening our relationship with the United States of America, our closest ally and most important trading partner.”

“And let’s be clear. The reason we’re doing this is because this is good for Manitobans. Manitobans want to see fentanyl taken off the streets. Manitobans want a secure border,” Kinew said.

“And if we can make those investments at the same time that we’re strengthening our relationship with the United States of America, helping our economy, then it’s all the better.”