Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is calling on Ottawa to appoint a border czar to work with U.S. counterpart Tom Homan and avoid the incoming tariffs promised by the Trump administration.
Following a meeting with the country’s premiers, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and other federal ministers on Wednesday, Smith revealed that she told them a border czar was the best answer to the incoming tariffs.
“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,” said Smith. “This should start with the appointment of a Canadian border czar to work with the new American border czar to jointly crack down hard on fentanyl and illegal migrants.”
Homan previously raised concerns about Canada’s border security shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump’s 2024 election victory.
Smith admitted that this action alone would unlikely prevent the tariffs but said that after speaking with dozens of U.S. representatives, administrative officials, and Trump himself, this was the most important first step to take.
She said she also invited a team from Fox News to visit the Alberta border to showcase the work already done to prevent illegal immigration and trafficking.
Alberta previously unveiled enhanced border security measures, including a patrol team of 51 officers, ten support staff, four patrol dogs, ten surveillance drones, and four narcotics analyzers. The province’s 300-kilometre shared border with the U.S. would be monitored for drug smuggling, gun trafficking, and illegal immigration.
While Alberta was the first province to introduce such measures, which was in the works for 18 months at the time, other provinces followed suit.
Smith also thanked the federal government for allowing Alberta to send a Black Hawk helicopter to the border today.
The premier said she believed somebody with a high-ranking military background would be the best option to become the border czar. She said she had already recommended that her Deputy Minister Paul Wynnyk, a former Lieutenant-General who served in the army for 38 years, become the czar. The federal government is aware of her recommendation, as she said Jonathan Wilkinson was present when she made it.
“That’s the kind of person we need: someone who understands military operations, who understands deployment, who understands the seriousness with which we have to take this issue,” said Smith.
The premier reiterated her previous claims that having a consistent voice at the negotiating table with the U.S. would be important, noting that the Liberal leadership election to replace Trudeau will complicate things as well as the scheduled 2025 federal election. However, an independent border czar could provide a consistent voice during a time of political change.
The Trump administration has hinted at implementing 25% tariffs on Canadian imports on Feb. 1, with another round to come in Apr. The latter tariffs would be informed by a study requested by the president that is set to be delivered to him on Apr. 1.
Smith warned that Trump is not joking around, confirmed by the recent tariff war his country had with Columbia. He started with a 25% threat, which moved to a 50% tariff threat, and then when Trump got what he wanted from Columbia, the threat went away.
“I don’t want to talk about retaliation. I want to talk about making sure we don’t have to have that discussion because we don’t have tariffs at all,” said Smith.
The Liberals have been considering pandemic-style payouts to businesses harmed by the tariffs.
Again, Smith wouldn’t even begin to discuss the package and her opinion of it because she said it was her goal to do everything she could to ensure that the tariffs never come to be.
