After getting a 30-day tariff reprieve from the U.S. government, Defence Minister Bill Blair said he believes Canada can avoid further tariff threats if Ottawa can show the recent border plan is stopping the flow of drugs and migrants into the U.S.
“They asked that we do a better job of policing our side of the border, and we’ve agreed to invest significantly on that,” Blair told Global News from Washington, D.C.
“If we are able to demonstrate that those investments are producing real results for both of our countries … then we may be able to avoid a return to discussion with respect to tariffs.”
After agreeing to hold off on imposing tariffs on Canada on Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump posted online that he was “very pleased with this initial outcome.” He said the 30-day pause would allow for negotiations “to see whether or not a final Economic deal with Canada can be structured.”
The White House and Republican lawmakers have praised Trump’s tariff threat for securing new border security commitments from Canada and Mexico.
On Monday, the Canadian government agreed to spend another $200 million to back “a new intelligence directive on organized crime and fentanyl,” appoint a “fentanyl czar,” and list drug cartels as terrorist organizations, in addition to $1.3 billion in border spending first announced in December.
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As a part of that deal to pause the 25 per cent tarrifs, Canada will send nearly 10,000 frontline personnel to the border, but Blair says that will not include any Canadian Armed Forces members.
“We are not deploying the armed forces to our border. It’s not what’s required,” Blair told Global News.
He added CAF members patrolling the border was not something offered by the Canadian government or asked for by the Trump administration during negotiations.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum agreed to send 10,000 Mexican Armed Forces members to the U.S.-Mexico border, as part of a package to get a 30-day pause on tariffs from the Trump administration.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has called on Canada to do the same.
“Send Canadian Forces troops, helicopters [and] surveillance to the border now,” Poilievre said on Monday, before the Canadian tariffs were paused.
Blair labelled sending troops to the border as “entirely inappropriate” and said Poilievre’s demand was “not a very well-informed recommendation.”
Despite no troops heading to the border, the minister did say the CAF would support police with logistics and surveillance at the border.
“We will support the RCMP, and they’re the ones that have the responsibility of doing that on behalf of Canadians,” Blair said.
The RCMP on Wednesday unveiled recent enforcement actions taken at the Canada-U.S. border, including the interception of six people crossing illegally into Manitoba last month.
After Trump had originally signed the executive order promising tariffs on Canada by Feb. 4, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau outlined a $155 billion counter-tariff package. He added that Canada was also considering non-tariff measures, such as ending partnerships with U.S. firms.
One of the biggest joint Canada-U.S. projects, the $73.9 billion purchase of 88 F-35 fighter jets, is not a contract that would be ripped up, according to the minister.
“We’ve gone through a long process of selecting the F-35 fighter jet. We remain committed to that,” Blair said.
“My job was to make sure that the American industry and the American government understands the importance of our shared responsibility and relationship in getting that job done.”
Procurement Minister Jean-Yves Duclos told reporters on Monday, before the tariffs were paused, that the government was only looking at limiting non-defence federal contracts to Canadian firms as part of any retaliation.
—With additional files from Global’s Sean Boynton
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