Canada braces for ‘massive influx’ of migrants following Trump win
An estimated 11 million undocumented migrants reside in the US, and Trump has pledged to deport up to one million annually once in office.
A drone view shows a barrier across the road at the border between the United States and Canada in Champlain, New York, US. / Photo: Reuters
Canada needs to act quickly to secure its borders against a “massive influx” of migrants because of Donald Trump’s US presidential triumph, Quebec Premier Francois Legault warned late Wednesday.
Quebec borders four northeast US states, and Trump promised during his election campaign that he would order the mass deportation of millions of migrants living in the country illegally.
There are an estimated 11 million undocumented migrants in the US, and Trump said he could move one million out each year.
"We'll be calling on the federal government to fulfil its responsibility to protect our borders," Legault said during a press conference in the wake of Trump’s victory. "The problem isn't immigrants, it's the number."
But Canada’s national police force said it has contingency plans including increased border surveillance in case of a flood of migrants.
“A few months ago, we started working on this contingency plan should he (Donald Trump) win and go ahead with some of their immigration policies,” Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sergeant Charles Poirier told the Globe and Mail newspaper in an interview.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland on Wednesday used words designed to calm the fears of Canadians that the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would be unable to control the borders.
“I do want to assure Canadians that we absolutely recognize the importance to border security and of controlling our own border, of controlling who comes into Canada and who doesn’t,” she said.
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