Barutciski: Ambiguous messaging won’t be enough to protect Canada from the U.S.’s mass deportation plan

Correct assessment. Government has shifted messaging but needs to be bolstered by actions that demonstrate seriousness to Trump administration:

…The incoming U.S. administration will be fully aware of a new immigration problem on their northern border: an explosion in illegal southbound crossings, including alleged terrorists. An increased RCMP presence on the Canadian side would not only help prevent illegal crossings in both directions, it would help Ottawa negotiate the removal of the 14-day loophole in the STCA. Proof that the Trudeau government can help Washington address the migration problems at the U.S.-Mexico border, as it did when it negotiated an extension to cover illegal crossings with the Biden administration, would give it leverage in any potential deal.

The U.S. immigration system has been broken for decades, so it should not surprise Ottawa if a new disruptive White House attempts to force change with dramatic methods, including mass deportations. Canada, then, needs to rethink its own approach to border control and to reconceive immigration policy within a continental co-operation framework. Just as with free trade, Ottawa should focus its diplomatic efforts on increasing collaboration with the U.S. – otherwise, there is a real risk that the immigration file will turn into a source of tension between two long-time allies that share the world’s longest undefended border.

Source: Ambiguous messaging won’t be enough to protect Canada from the U.S.’s mass deportation plan