As the nation prepares for a potential influx of U.S. migrants, Canadian officials declared Friday that they are on “high alert” with all eyes on the US border.
The largest mass deportation in American history is what US President-elect Donald Trump has threatened, claiming that immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country.”
Tens of thousands of migrants, particularly Haitians who were denied US protections, fled north to Canada during his first term as president, which stretched from 2017 to 2021.
“We’re on high alert,” a Royal Canadian Mounted Police spokesman, Sergeant Charles Poirier, told AFP.
“All of our eyes are looking at the border to see what’s going to happen… because we know that Trump’s stance on immigration might drive up illegal and irregular migration to Canada,” he said.
In Ottawa, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland met Friday with a group of ministers tasked with handling thorny issues that might emerge between Canada and the incoming Trump administration.
She wanted to give the impression that Canada was prepared for a potential spike in immigration arrivals.
“We have a plan,” she told a news conference after the meeting, without giving details. “Canadians need to know… our borders are safe and secure and we control them.”
Watching out for a possible influx comes as Canada is slashing its own immigration targets.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has said it wants to slow population growth while it bolsters key infrastructure and social services.
Quebec Premier Francois Legault this week also expressed concerns about a large number of arrivals overwhelming his province’s already strained ability to house them.
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