Poilievre calls for asylum seeker cap, border plan as U.S. tariff threat looms

OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has demanded the federal government present a plan before Parliament to beef up border security as U.S. president-elect Donald Trump threatens to impose stiff tariffs on Canada.

The plan should include measures to increase patrols and technology to crack down on illegal drug trafficking, as well as tightening visa rules and working with provincial law enforcement, Poilievre told a news conference on Sunday.

“The reality is that Trudeau has lost control of the deficit, of immigration and of our border. In less than two months, President Trump will come into office. He’s threatened the possibility of imposing tariffs unless there is action to address Trudeau’s broken border,” he said.

With gridlock in Parliament set to continue, Poilievre said Conservatives “will make accommodations to quickly pass a border plan if it goes towards fixing Trudeau’s broken border.”

He said Canada should also cap the number of asylum seekers as it faces a significant influx in refugee claims.

Canada had nearly 250,000 refugee claims in the queue as of Sept. 30, 2024, having approved more than 33,000 claims between January and the end of September.

In all of 2023, Canada accepted 37,000 refugee claims, and in 2022, it accepted 28,000.

“I love real refugees,” Poilievre said. “Our country was built in large part by real refugees who were genuinely fleeing danger, like my wife. But I have no time for people who lie to come into our country, and that is the problem we have to cut off.”

Trump has threatened to slap a 25 per cent tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico unless the two countries stop illegal border crossings and prevent illicit drugs such as fentanyl from entering the United States.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had dinner with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Friday, a meeting the president-elect later described as “very productive.”

Canada’s ambassador to the U.S. Kirsten Hillman said in an interview with the Associated Press on Sunday that Trudeau’s talk with Trump focused mainly on the border, with Trudeau assuring Trump was aware of the differences between the Canada-U.S. border and United States-Mexico border.

Sources say the two men also discussed trade, Ukraine, NATO, icebreakers, the Middle East and the Group of Seven meeting in Alberta next year.

Trump’s presidential inauguration is scheduled for Jan. 20.

In a statement, NDP public safety critic Alistair MacGregor said the Conservative government under Stephen Harper fired 1,100 border officers, “allowing toxic drugs and illegal guns to flow into Canada.”

“Conservatives cut, and that makes us all less safe,” MacGregor said.

The cuts to the Canada Border Services Agency took place in 2012.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 1, 2024.

Nojoud Al Mallees, The Canadian Press