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The chickens are finally coming home to roost for the reckless politicians who supported and encouraged open-door, unvetted mass migration policies, otherwise known as illegal migration. President-elect Donald Trump not only intends to close the southern border and deport America’s worst criminals; he also says he will impose high tariffs (25%) on ALL goods from Canada until Canada stems the flow of illegal aliens and drugs entering America from the Canadian side of the border. Now panic has ensued, and for good reason, given the size of Canada-US trade. According to CTV News, with data obtained from the Observatory of Economic Complexity:

Canada exported US$438 billion to the United States in 2022, mainly crude petroleum (US$117 billion), cars (US$27 billion) and petroleum gas (US$22.4 billion). Canada also exported services south of the border in 2020 worth US$25.5 billion, namely computer and information services (US$7.68 billion), transportation (US$5.45 billion) and financial services (US$5.08 billion).

The reason why there has been so many Mexican border crossings into Canada in the first place is because Justin Trudeau rescinded the visa requirement for Mexicans coming in 2016. Mexicans were now free to fly in at will with a pro-forma electronic travel authorization (eTA) visitor’s pass, easily acquired online. What many of them did was use Trudeau’s opportunity to fly into Canada and then cross into the US.

A report from the MacDonald Laurier Institute in Canada stated that Mexican cartels are a direct threat to Canada’s public safety. The report describes an RCMP raid of a “fentanyl ‘superlab’ in Falkland, BC, with ties to a transnational criminal network that spans from Mexico to China.” Police called it the “largest and most sophisticated” of such labs. Along with hard drugs, weapons were also seized, including “AR-15-style guns, silencers, small explosive devices, body armour, and vast amounts of ammunition.”

In February, Canada’s Immigration Minister Marc Miller reinstated visas for Mexican citizens “to slow what he called ‘exponential growth’ in asylum claims straining Canada’s refugee system and provinces’ resources, while also drawing the ire of U.S. officials.” The Trudeau government’s “decision to lift the visa requirement for Mexican nationals became a ‘bilateral irritant’ with the Biden administration.” So Trump wasn’t the first US official to show ire, but unlike Biden, he’s doing something about it. It should be obvious that if Trump is serious about managing the grave problems of the southern border as any responsible leader would, he would seek the same from the north.

Subsequently, Miller has warned that Trump’s threat “should be taken very seriously by Canadians, and we take it very seriously.”

Global News reported in July (that is, before the Trump win):

Internal government briefing notes shed new light on Washington’s “concerns regarding abuse” of the visa exemption, and the pressure Ottawa was under to reimpose the requirement.

“Mexican nationals entering Canada … subsequently attempting to enter the U.S. illegally remains a bilateral irritant,” reads the document obtained by Global News through access to information laws.

“The idea that the United States sees something is an ‘irritant’ is notable because what the Americans see as an ‘irritant’ is seen by Canadians as existential … that is likely the last straw,” Carleton University political science professor Aaron Ettinger said….

“Canada shares U.S. concerns regarding abuse of visa-free travel by Mexican passport holders,” the document also stated.

The writing was on the wall, and now, certain politicians (who will likely regret doing so in the future) are trying to punch above their weight. This time it isn’t Trudeau crowing against Trump as the Canadian prime minister is facing record low popularity ratings and recent dissension in his own ranks. Trudeau has now “signaled a sense of optimism at working with Trump,” and in the interest of self preservation, stated: “One of the really important things is that we be all pulling together on this.”

Unfortunately, Opposition Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre stated that Trump “made an unjustified threat” on “our already weak and shrinking economy.”

Polievre continued:

We actually need to do is stand up for our economy by axing taxes, unleashing free enterprise, and having a massive boom in our energy and resource production and standing up for our country against unfair tariffs.

Poilievre is correct on his latter point, but not on his first. Trump cannot be held accountable for the economic malaise in which Canada is now mired. It’s Trudeau’s fault, and this is the point that Poilievre should be focusing on. It is an embarrassment to Canada that the US under Trump has to demand that Canada clean up the fallout from Trudeau’s damaging immigration policy, or else. Given the uncharacteristically level head that he has shown of late, Trudeau apparently knows this himself.

Poilievre would do well to view Trump’s justifiable “threat” as an opportunity to confront illegal immigration and drug smuggling within Canada. Poilievre should also prepare himself to be an ally to the incoming Trump administration, especially given his current popularity. Canadian elections are set for fall 2025, barring a sudden Liberal government collapse. If elections were held today, Poilievre would win.

New Democrat Party leader Jagmeet Singh posted on X:

Justin Trudeau, you cannot keep your head in the sand.

Stand up and fight like hell.

Canadian jobs are on the line. pic.twitter.com/jGzrUGw73d

— Jagmeet Singh (@theJagmeetSingh) November 26, 2024

Singh has nothing to lose as leader of the New Democrat Party, rooted in socialism, and with no chance of leading Canada. He’s free to say almost anything. From an underhanded pact with Trudeau to now doubling down on Trudeau over Trump’s tariff threat, Singh is a shameless flip-flopper, with a kind of desperation for power that’s chilling.

In Ontario, Premier Doug Ford stated, in a knee-jerk reaction:

Canada would have “no choice” but to retaliate if the incoming Trump administration went through with the tariff, which would also apply to Mexican goods.

Ford said the province plans to launch a “stronger together” marketing campaign targeting key U.S. states in the coming weeks.

Really, Doug?

Yet a day later, CBC noted that Ford “still seemed to concede that the president-elect had a point.” Ford said: “We need to do better on our borders.” And herein lies the key.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith wrote on X:

The incoming US @realDonaldTrump administration has valid concerns related to illegal activities at our shared border. We are calling on the federal government to work with the incoming administration to resolve these issues immediately, thereby avoiding any unnecessary tariffs…

— Danielle Smith (@ABDanielleSmith) November 26, 2024

Many Canadian leaders are currently in a panic over Trump’s tariff threat and are now busy “pointing fingers at each other.”Let’s hope that they come to their senses and use this moment as an opportunity to protect Canadians from illegals. A devastating trade war with America would be foolish. This is not an issue of giving in to a threat. It’s an issue of Trump fixing a big problem that has arisen from the reckless immigration policies of both Trudeau in the north and of Joe Biden on the southern border. Everyone will benefit, the economies of both countries will improve, and sensible border policies make sense from a national security standpoint as well.