Poilievre calls for asylum-seeker cap, border controls in wake of Trump tariff threats

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has demanded the federal Liberal 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 [Prime Minister Justin] 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.

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Canada had nearly 250,000 refugee claims in the queue as of Sept. 30, having approved more than 33,000 claims in the first nine months of this year.

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.

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Chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton speaks with Minister of Public Safety Dominic LeBlanc about his trip to Florida with the prime minister to dine with the U.S. president-elect, and how his government is responding to the threat of steep tariffs.

The prime minister had dinner with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Friday, a meeting the president-elect later described as "very productive."

Sources said Trudeau and Trump discussed trade, border security, 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, 2025.

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U.S. president-elect Donald Trump is threatening a 25 per cent tariff on all goods imported from Canada if more isn’t done to stop illegal border crossings. CBC’s Jorge Barrera breaks down why cracking down on the border is much harder than it may sound.

In a statement, NDP public safety critic Alistair MacGregor said the former 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.