Politics

With tariff threat paused for now, Poilievre renews call for Parliament to resume

With a historic trade war on pause, at least for now, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is renewing his calls for Parliament to resume sitting.

Conservative leader called for troops on the border before 30-day reprieve announced

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre listens to questions from media during a news conference in Vancouver on Sunday, February 2, 2025.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre wants Canada's border patrol agency to be expanded and have jurisdiction over the whole border. (Ethan Cairns/Canadian Press)

With a historic trade war on pause, at least for now, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is renewing his calls for Parliament to resume sitting.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday that U.S. President Donald Trump will hold off on levying tariffs on Canada for at least 30 days after Canada updated its pitch to improve security along the border. 

"Like Canadians across the country, Conservatives are relieved to hear that there will be a one-month pause on tariffs from the United States that would have hurt workers, families and businesses on both sides of the border," Poilievre posted to social media.

"But this is not a time to sit back. We must urgently work to strengthen Canada's economy and do everything we can to ensure these tariffs are never brought in."

Parliament is prorogued until March 24 as the Liberal Party chooses its next leader. The party's leadership convention is scheduled for March 9.

The Conservative leader, who has been adamant he will take the minority government down at the first opportunity he gets, said the House of Commons should return "so that we can put Canada first."

During a news conference earlier Monday, Poilievre did not directly answer whether opposition parties plan to set aside a non-confidence motion, triggering an immediate election, to first vote on any tariff-related measures. 

During that same news conference, the Opposition leader made his pitch to station Canadian soldiers near the border "immediately" to "spot and intercept risks."  

"Send Canadian Forces troops, helicopters [and] surveillance to the border now," Poilievre said. 

The Opposition leader also said a Conservative government would hire 2,000 more Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) agents and extend the powers of the agency along the entire border. As it stands, the CBSA is in charge of official ports of entry and the RCMP patrols in between. 

His comments followed Mexico's announcements earlier in the day to deploy 10,000 national guard troops to the border, pleasing Trump and staving off tariffs in that country.

An RCMP Blackhawk helicopter patrols at Roxham Road, which has been used as an unofficial crossing point between the U.S. state of New York and the Canadian province of Quebec, along the Canada-U.S. border in Champlain, New York, U.S., January 19, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio      TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
An RCMP Black Hawk helicopter is seen patrolling at Roxham Road in southern Quebec last month. Canada has launched a $1.3-billion border security plan as U.S. President Donald Trump threatens economic punishment over a number of grievances, including the border. (Carlos Osorio/Reuters)

A few hours later, Trudeau posted to social media that the tariffs on Canadian goods are also paused, pointing to an updated border strategy. He said 10,000 front-line personnel who "are and will be" working on protecting the border and committed to appointing a new fentanyl "czar" who will lead Canada's efforts to crack down on fentanyl, a chief concern of Trump's.

The prime minister promised to list Mexican cartels as terrorists under Canadian law and said Canada agreed to spend an additional $200 million through an intelligence directive to fight fentanyl and organized crime.

The Canadian government has already committed $1.3 billion to bolster the border, including surveillance towers, dozens of drones and two Black Hawk helicopters the RCMP has leased. In December it promised to strengthen 24/7 surveillance of the border to curb the flow of illegal fentanyl and irregular migration south and set up a new joint "strike force" to go after organized crime. 

Trump again says he wants Canada to be '51 state' 

Trump's reasons for engaging in an spat with his country's longtime ally have been shifting, but he has cited illegal fentanyl coming from Canada into the U.S. as justification for the trade standoff.

U.S. data shows relatively little amounts of fentanyl are seized at the northern border. Figures from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) show the agency seized 19.5 kilograms of fentanyl at the northern border last year, compared to 9,570 kilograms at the southwestern one. 

However on Monday Trump tossed out other reasons. Following a morning call with Trudeau, Trump took to social media where he went after Canada for not allowing U.S. banks to "open or do business there."

WATCH | U.S. tariffs on Canadian imports set to come into effect Tuesday: 

U.S. tariffs on Canadian imports set to come into effect Tuesday

17 hours ago
Duration 1:58
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke to U.S. President Donald Trump early Monday morning about the forthcoming trade war that has the potential to inflict economic pain on workers and businesses on both sides of the border. Tariffs are set to take effect Tuesday.
   

Taking questions from the Oval Office, he was asked what Canada could do to avoid Tuesday's tariffs.

"I'd like to see Canada become our 51st state," he responded. 

During his news conference, Poilievre — who is leading in public opinion polling —  was asked what Trump's ultimate goal is and whether Canada should make more concessions, including in the banking sector. 

"You'd have to ask President Trump what his goals are," the Opposition leader responded. 

"We need to protect our borders, not to please any other foreign leader."

WATCH | Poilievre says border protection puts 'Canada first': 

Poilievre pledges to 'put Canada first’ in the face of U.S. tariffs

16 hours ago
Duration 1:28
Asked by a reporter Monday why he thinks U.S. President Donald Trump is imposing tariffs, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said that was a question for Trump — before adding that Canada needs to ‘protect our borders, not to please any other foreign leader.’
 

Earlier Monday, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe suggested Ottawa look into making the CBSA a branch of the Canadian Armed Forces.

The premier said it would make it easier to deploy military troops along the border.

"Thereby addressing concerns President Trump has raised," he said.

Moe also suggested the Canadian Armed Forces absorbing the CBSA would help Canada get closer to meeting NATO's military investment benchmark of two per cent of gross domestic product. 

Question of available troops

Just how many troops could be mustered to the border is an open question. The Canadian military has long been handicapped with a shortage of personnel and aging equipment.

As CBC News reported last year, internal Defence Department documents showed that only 58 per cent of the Canadian Armed Forces would be able to respond if called upon in a crisis by NATO allies — and almost half of the military's equipment is considered "unavailable and unserviceable." 

"We have a crisis of confidence with the U.S. as they believe our border security is inadequate, and the U.S. is largely defending Canada because we won't do it ourselves — at least not to NATO or U.S. standards of readiness of people, equipment and training," said retired lieutenant-general Andrew Leslie, who is also a former Liberal MP.

"So, should Canada deploy regular and reserve soldiers along our border with the U.S. now? Yes. Should that have been done on [inauguration day] Jan. 20? Yes. Too bad they are not ready. It's now an emergency."

In an interview last month, Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jennie Carignan suggested the military could provide additional equipment to the border including helicopters and surveillance gear.

According to the Globe and Mail, Carignan said the military would only be there to support the RCMP and CBSA if required, and that "there is no intention to militarize the border."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Catharine Tunney is a reporter with CBC's Parliament Hill bureau, where she covers national security and the RCMP. She worked previously for CBC in Nova Scotia. You can reach her at [email protected]

With files from Murray Brewster and J.P. Tasker