Trudeau to Washington: Sending troops to border would be a mistake
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canadian officials have made it clear to the United States that it would be a mistake to position troops near the border.
“We certainly hope that they’re not going to go through with that,” he said this morning during his daily briefing outside his home at Rideau Cottage, speaking a day after news broke that the U.S. was considering the move.
Asked about reports that the Trump administration has dropped these plans, first disclosed on Thursday, Trudeau said he had no news to share on the subject.
The prime minister said senior officials have been back and forth with U.S. administration on “many, many issues” around the border.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said Friday Canadian officials continue to speak "energetically" with their U.S. counterparts. Asked for the latest developments during a noon-hour briefing, she said it is up to the Trump administration to update its position.
"Canada has continued to express clearly and forcefully that there is no logical reason to militarize our border with the United States,” she said. “And we have been very clear also that such an action would damage our relationship."
On Thursday, Freeland called the idea of dispatching troops “entirely unnecessary.” She listed NORAD, NATO and NAFTA as bilateral bona fides — as well as last week’s negotiations that led to the restriction of non-essential travel across the shared border.
“In view of all of these connections and the importance of the relationship, Canada is strongly opposed to this U.S. proposal,” she said. “And we have made that opposition very very clear.”
The Wall Street Journal reported last night that they'd been told by a U.S. official that the plans for troops changed after hearing vigorous objections from Canadian officials.
