Canada introduces additional border regulations in response to the prospect of T

Canada announces new border rules  after Trump  threatens tariffs

Canada has  pledged to implement a  series of new security measures along  its border with the  United States, including  increased surveillance and a joint  "strike force" to target transnational  organized crime.
The pledge  comes after President-elect Donald Trump  threatened to  impose a 25% tariff on Canadian goods  when he takes office in January if the country does not secure its shared border  from the flow of  illegal immigrants and illegal  drugs.
Economists say such tariffs could  deal a  major blow to  the Canadian economy.
Announcing details of the plan, Canada's  Minister of  Finance and  Intergovernmental Affairs said the federal government would  commit C$1.3 billion ($900 million; £700 million) to the  plan.
The measures "will secure our border against the flow of illegal drugs and irregular migration while ensuring  the free  movement of people and goods that are at the  heart of North America's  prosperity," Secretary Dominic LeBlanc said  Tuesday. The five pillars of the plan cover  disrupting the fentanyl trade, new law  enforcement tools, better coordination with  U.S. law enforcement, increased information  sharing, and  curbing border trafficking.
They include a  proposal for an aerial surveillance task force, including helicopters,  drones, and mobile  observation towers between ports of  entry.
The government is also  providing funding for the Canada Border  Services Agency to train new teams  of dogs to  search for illegal  drugs and new detection tools for high-risk ports of  entry.
And LeBlanc  gave more details about the so-called  "joint strike  force" to Canadian and  American authorities, saying it would include  "increased operational  support, dedicated synthetic drug units,  enhanced combined forces, special  law enforcement, integrated binational  law enforcement teams, and new operational  capabilities and  infrastructure."

The new plan appears to  fit with concerns  that Trump has publicly  revealed in recent weeks: the flow of fentanyl and undocumented immigrants into the  United States. The number of crossings at the  Canada-US border is significantly lower than at the southern border, according to US Border Patrol data on  immigration encounters, as  well as the amount of fentanyl  seized.
Mexico also  faces the threat of a 25%  tariff.
LeBlanc said he and other officials had a "preliminary" conversation with Trump's  new "border  czar," Tom  Homan, about the new  plan.
"I'm encouraged by  this conversation," he  said.
LeBlanc was present at a meeting last month between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Trump at Mar-a-Lago, a trip  said to  be aimed at avoiding taxes. The announcement comes on LeBlanc's first day as Canada's finance  minister.
The longtime  Trudeau ally was sworn in  in haste on Monday after the surprise resignation of Chrystia Freeland, who served as finance minister and deputy prime  minister.

Freeland left office by writing an open letter to Trudeau in which she outlined  her disagreements with him on spending and "the best path for  Canada."
Her abrupt exit from cabinet has  strained Trudeau's weakened minority  government.
In a speech to party  loyalists at a Liberal holiday  event on Tuesday, a defiant Trudeau said there are  "still tough days and big challenges" in  politics. "But this team doesn't hold the record for the longest  streak in Canadian history because we  avoid those moments, we  work hard, whether it's easy or  difficult."