Facing the prospect of widespread tariffs that could plunge the Canadian economy into recession, Alberta’s premier is attending to the concerns of U.S. president-elect Donald Trump, in the hopes of avoiding the 25 per cent tariffs if illegal immigration and drug flow are not addressed.
“Well, look, let’s stop the leaky border first. Let’s stop the illegal migration first. Let’s stop the fentanyl first. Let’s meet our NATO commitment first, and let’s see where we get with the Americans,” Danielle Smith said last week on CBC’s Power & Politics.
After premiers held an emergency meeting Wednesday with the federal government about the threatened tariffs, Smith said the province would act “urgently and decisively” to patrol the shared border between Alberta and Montana, with details still to come.
Smith noted the problem was “much more serious” at the U.S.-Mexico border, but said that didn’t diminish the need for provinces to crack down on illegal migrants and drug smuggling at the U.S.-Canada border.
To be certain, the smuggling of the synthetic opioid fentanyl — which Trump has singled out as being a chief concern — has historically been an issue of significantly higher magnitude at the Mexican border.
Approximately 20 kilograms of fentanyl were seized at the Canada-U.S. border from October 2023 to September 2024, compared to more than 9,500 kilograms at the Mexico-U.S. border, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data.
Alberta’s share is minor. The Havre border patrol sector, which covers most of the border between Canada and Montana, seized around three pounds (around 1.4 kilograms) of fentanyl in fiscal year 2024, according to CBP data. The Seattle Field Office also had three pounds, for a total of six (2.7 kilograms).
Across the Havre sector, the number of “encounters” — referring to those people apprehended for sneaking over the border between the ports of entry, according to a CBP spokesperson — vary per month, with 100 registered in fiscal year 2024.
A complicated issue
In the view of Alberta’s public safety minister, any amount of fentanyl seized at the Montana border is a problem.
“[It] should not be taken lightly as it has the potential to harm thousands of people. The problem at the border is not only what has been seized but what has not been seized, increasing the concern for public safety,” Mike Ellis wrote in a statement.
Mount Royal University criminologist Kelly Sundberg, a former officer of the Canada Border Services Agency, said numbers of reported seized drugs are low, but actual numbers are likely higher.
Kelly Sundberg, a criminologist at Mount Royal University in Calgary, says while reported numbers of drug seizures at the U.S. border are low, he believes the actual amount going through is likely much higher. (John Badcock/CBC)
“There’s not as many officers on the northern border … there’s a lot of stuff that gets through that border without anyone knowing,” Sundberg said.
“Without question, yes, they seized a few kilograms, but you could probably times that by 10.”
In Sundberg’s view, Alberta’s plan illustrates how neglected border security has been in Canada for the past decade.
“It’s not an ideal approach. It’s definitely a stopgap for right now. But I think that our governments have to start working together and [find] a solution,” Sundberg said.
Mark Weber, national president of the Customs and Immigration Union, the union that represents staff and officers of the Canada Border Services Agency, said how “leaky” the border is depends on which way the issue is defined.
“If we’re talking about things getting into the U.S., that’s not really our prerogative to be dealing with those,” Weber told the Calgary Eyeopener.
“I think there’s a little bit of confusion about which way the enforcement should be happening. The U.S. secures their border, and we secure ours.”
Coming into Canada, there are significant issues, according to Weber. That includes fewer available officers.
“We’re down about 2,000 to 3,000 officers we need across the country. There are significant concerns regarding what comes into the country as well,” he said.
There are concerns about security through land crossings and through air travel, but rail remains a big challenge, according to Weber.
“We don’t look at them at all. The Canada Border Services Agency simply does not deal with rail. We don’t have the infrastructure to do it. We don’t have the staff to do it. We’re essentially blind in terms of what comes into the country through rail,” he said.
Ellis, Alberta’s public safety minister, previously said he’s reaching out to the attorney general of Montana to talk about working together on border measures.
A spokesperson for Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen declined an interview request, but wrote in a statement that the attorney general continued to monitor the situation and was in regular communication with Customs and Border Protection regarding illegal crossings and drug activity.