LILLEY: Yes, there is a terrorism problem at the Canada-U.S. border

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Over the last three years, 1,155 people on various terror watch lists have been stopped from entering the United States from Canada. By contrast, the number of people trying to enter the United States from Mexico who were on terror watch lists over those same three years totaled just 199.

For Canadians to pretend there is no threat that the Americans need to worry about along the Canada-U.S. border is simply not based in reality.

In terms of both the terrorist threat and the increase in people crossing into the United States from Canada to claim asylum, the Canadian border has become a major concern. Even on the drug front, there is more that needs to be done to deal with this very serious issue.

While the Biden administration may have raised these issues and asked for cooperation, Donald Trump stated bluntly on Monday night that we need to get our house in order or face consequences.

“As everyone is aware, thousands of people are pouring through Mexico and Canada, bringing crime and drugs at levels never seen before,” the president-elect posted.

“On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% tariff on all products coming into the United States, and its ridiculous open borders.”

Some Canadians scoffed at the idea that the Canada-U.S. border is a problem. There are a couple of issues with that including that if one partner in a relationship says there is a problem then they should be listened to, and secondly that the actual facts say there is a problem.

According to stats from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Service, in fiscal year 2024, which ended on Sept. 30, there were 358 people on various terror watch lists who tried to enter the United States from Canada. By comparison, the number of people caught trying to do the same across the Mexico-U.S. border was just 52.

That means 87% of the people on terror watch lists trying to cross land borders into the United States came from Canada, not Mexico.

Prior to 2022, the numbers of people on terror watch lists trying to enter from either country were not that far apart. Sometimes Canada was ahead and sometimes Mexico was ahead.

Since 2022, which coincides with the Trudeau government dramatically opening up the temporary foreign workers program, international student admissions and the falling apart of the refugee system, the number of suspected terrorists crossing in from Canada has increased dramatically.

The Americans have also seen a huge increase in the number of people coming from Canada illegally, including many who are trying to declare themselves refugees. Between 2022 and fiscal year 2024, there was an 82% increase in illegal crossings from Canada.

Over the same time period, crossings at the Mexican border saw a 10% decrease in illegal crossings.

Monthly crossings along the Canada-U.S. border went from just over 3,000 per month to an average of more than 16,500 per month. No wonder the Americans are saying they have concerns about our border.

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“There’s very little river patrol or lake patrol or road patrol, and so they had been overrun, and the problem with the northern border is a huge national security issue,” Tom Homan, Trump’s new border czar, told a Watertown, N.Y., TV station in an interview just after he was appointed.

On the issue of drugs, which Trump says must be dealt with, we may have a better leg to stand on but we have a perception problem in the United States. Ross McKitrick, an economics professor at the University of Guelph in Ontario, described an encounter he had in Washington recently.

“I was at a policy conference in Sept. at the Woodrow Wilson Center in DC and had a chance to ask a well-connected former State Dept official if Washington thinks of fentanyl primarily as a Mexico problem or a China problem. He said, ‘a Canada problem,’” McKitrick posted.

If that is the perception in Washington, then that is the reality our officials must deal with.

There are ways to tackle these issues, to ensure our immigration system is fixed, that terrorist concerns – which are real – are dealt with. We need to be willing to do the hard work to keep trade open with the United States.

So far there is no evidence the Trudeau government wants to engage in that work — we better hope their attitude changes sooner rather than later.

blilley@postmedia.com