Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc has announced that he will meet with US President-elect Donald Trump’s border czar after Christmas and present Canada’s proposed $1.3 billion plan to secure the shared border.
Earlier this week, the minister, who now serves as finance minister and public safety minister following the bombshell resignation of Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland on Monday, announced a series of measures to increase 24/7 surveillance of the Canada-U.S. border. Measures were introduced.
The government has pledged to provide the RCMP with helicopters, drones and mobile surveillance towers, and proposed the creation of a new joint “strike force” to work with the U.S. on intelligence sharing to stem the flow of fentanyl. are.
LeBlanc told reporters Friday in Dorchester, No. 3, that he has already had “positive preliminary calls” with veteran immigration official Tom Homan. President Trump appointed Homan to be the official in charge of all U.S. border issues.
“We have agreed to meet in the next few days after Christmas to discuss the package that I have announced,” LeBlanc said.
President Trump’s threat to impose a 25% tariff on all imports from Canada has increased efforts to tighten border security and get Ottawa’s plan on the desks of key Republican lawmakers.
President Trump has said the tariffs are in response to concerns about border security, immigration and illegal drugs, especially fentanyl.
The threat threatens Canada-U.S. relations despite U.S. Customs and Border Protection data showing the amount of fentanyl seized along the northern border last year was a fraction of the amount seized at the Mexican border. Floating.
“I am confident that we will be able to have good faith and cooperative discussions with the incoming Trump administration, but there is much work to be done,” LeBlanc said.
“I do not for one moment underestimate the threat these tariffs pose to Canadian workers and the Canadian economy.”
Homan, who is from an area of New York state not far from Ontario, has been a fierce critic of the northern border, calling it a “major national security issue.”
He previously served as acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
