On Tuesday, Canadian leaders announced a spending plan to bolster border security in an effort to prevent 25% tariffs from going into effect by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.
In a post on X, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the new security measures at its border with the U.S. includes deploying new helicopters, drones, and surveillance tools, adding new scanners and sniffer dog teams to stop and seize fentanyl and cracking down on the money laundering that’s funding cross-border crime.
The new measures will cost Canada $900 million over a span of six years.
RELATED STORY | What are tariffs? How the Trump administration plans to implement them in 2025
Trump said several weeks ago he would impose a 25% tariff on Canada and Mexico if they did not boost their border security to help stop the trafficking of illegal drugs — which led to a lot of reaction from the countries' leaders.
Trudeau flew to Mar-a-Lago last month to meet with the president-elect, but that didn't stop Trump from making disparaging comments towards Trudeau on his social media — implying Canada would become the 51st state of the U.S. and referring to him as a governor rather than prime minister.
This comes as Trudeau faces growing pressure from Canadians to resign after his top minister abruptly quit and criticized his handling of the budget.