Canada should appoint ‘border czar’ to work collaboratively with U.S., Alberta premier says

[Pelican Press 0]

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Canada should appoint ‘border czar’ to work collaboratively with U.S., Alberta premier says

As the threat of 25 per cent tariffs looms over Canada, Alberta’s premier says Ottawa should appoint a “border czar” to work collaboratively with the United States.

Danielle Smith told reporters Wednesday that a ********* border czar would work with American counterpart Tom Homan to crack down on fentanyl and ******** crossings — something U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly said is a major issue.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">

2:06
Trump’s border czar to focus on ********* side, says it ‘can’t be a gateway to terrorists’

Smith said having a border czar, on top of a $1.3-billion border security plan pledged by Ottawa, would further help Canada’s chances to avoid the tariffs that Trump has threatened to impose on Saturday.

Story continues below advertisement

“The one thing that we can do this week, in just the next couple of days, to have the best chance to avoid tariffs is to show clear and unequivocal action to secure the border,” Smith said.

She said a retired military general would be the right fit for the role.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">

Get daily National news

Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

“We need someone who understands military operations, who understands deployment, who understands the seriousness with which we have to take this issue.”

Smith said she would endorse Alberta’s interim top bureaucrat, Paul Wynnyk, for the position.

Wynnyk is a longtime bureaucrat who has served as Alberta’s deputy minister of health and municipal affairs since his 38-year career in the Armed Forces.

Smith said creating a border czar position likely wouldn’t appease Trump, but it wouldn’t hurt Canada’s chances either.

“I think there’ll be other things that we will need to work on, and we will do so.

“But I am convinced, after speaking with dozens of elected representatives, administrative administration officials and the president himself that this is the most important first step.”

Trump’s pick to lead the U.S. Department of Commerce, billionaire financier Howard Lutnick, told the U.S. Senate during his Wednesday confirmation hearing that he sees the tariffs as a way to get Canada to take action on border security.

Story continues below advertisement

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">

1:52
Trump taps Tom Homan as border czar, Elise Stefanik as UN ambassador

Trending Now

• This is the hidden content, please

  • Sign In
  • or
  • Sign Up

  /applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">

  Terminal Alberta senior chooses MAID in memory of late wife: ‘I have no regrets’

• This is the hidden content, please

  • Sign In
  • or
  • Sign Up

  /applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">

  Bank of Canada cuts key rate 0.25% but warns of tariff uncertainty

“If we are your biggest trading partner, show us the respect. Shut your border and end fentanyl coming into this country,” Lutnick said.

He said he believes Canada and Mexico are “acting swiftly” on border security “and if they execute it there will be no tariff, and if they don’t then there will be.”

Smith said Lutnick’s comments suggest Canada should continue to make sure Americans understand that Canada takes those concerns seriously.

“If (Trump’s) senior trade person says, ‘Be serious about the border,’ let’s be serious about the border,” Smith said.

“And then let’s see if that manages to avoid tariffs.”

Smith said her government invited American network Fox News to the Coutts border crossing to help demonstrate Alberta’s efforts to beef up security.

Story continues below advertisement

She said she’s also pleased the federal government is using ****** Hawk helicopters for the RCMP to patrol the border. Patrols recently started in Manitoba and began Tuesday in Alberta.

Trump has also, at times, pointed to his country’s trade deficit with Canada as a major irritant.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">

1:57
Bank of Canada cuts key rate with ‘trade war storm’ on horizon

Previous Video

Next Video

— With files Kelly Geraldine Malone in Washington

More on Politics
More videos

&copy 2025 The ********* Press

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

#Canada #appoint #border #czar #work #collaboratively #U.S #Alberta #premier

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up