Canada is now deploying helicopters, including Black Hawks entering service this week, among a range of other measures like drones to patrol the U.S.-Canada border, Public Safety Minister David McGuinty said on Wednesday.
Global News confirmed earlier Wednesday that the RCMP had finalized the contract for Black Hawk helicopters that will be used to help patrol the border.
“We have deployed 60 new drones along our border with the United States, and we will be deploying additional surveillance towers. We are acquiring new technology such as x rays, mobile x rays, and handheld chemical analyzers. As of this week, we are deploying new helicopters at the Canada U.S. border,” McGuinty said in Ottawa.
The RCMP confirmed that two of the Black Hawk models will be operational as soon as Friday.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller said Canada’s recent restrictions on visa requirements have led to an 89 per cent drop in people crossing over illegally into the United States since June 2024.
Global News has previously reported that a senior government source had said Trudeau was ready to beef up border security by buying new helicopters for patrol. A national security source had said at the time that the RCMP has sought helicopter capabilities for the border for years.
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In December 2024, the federal government said it is proposing a joint strike force and an “around the clock” aerial surveillance unit for ports of entry as part of its plan to tackle issues at the U.S.-Canada border amid growing pressure from Trump.
The planned North American joint strike force was one of several announcements that came from the government’s fall economic statement, which saw $1.3 billion announced for added border security measures.
With Parliament prorogued until March 24, that new spending can’t be passed but measures that can be accomplished without legislation can still go ahead.
In February last year, Canada for Mexican nationals trying to enter the U.S.
“After we imposed the partial visa requirement… for Mexican nationals, we’ve seen a rapid decline in Canada being used as a backdoor into the U.S. Mexican nationals intercepted while trying to cross illegally has fallen by 72 per cent since June alone,” he said.
“I can also report that our heightened scrutiny of visitor visa applications has led to an 89 per cent overall reduction in foreign nationals crossing illegally into the United States over that same period.”
He added that there has been a 91 per cent drop in people with Canadian student permits illegally crossing into the U.S.
Miller said the government is also going to propose new measures to penalize immigration consultants advising others to abuse the system.
“We are proposing monetary penalties up to $1.5 million, as well as other consequences such as naming and shaming bad actors on our way,” he said.
McGuinty said Canada was also going to launch a joint border pre-clearance operation with U.S. authorities.
“We’ll be the first country to establish preclearance on U.S. soil, where Canadian Border Services officers will work with a shared facility alongside U.S. officers to minimize the number of individuals trying to cross the border illegally between ports of entry and to keep dangerous individuals out of North America,” he said.
Last month, the federal government ended the practice of flagpoling. According to the CBSA, occurs and, after a visit to the United States or St. Pierre and Miquelon, re-enter to access immigration services at a port of entry.
Miller said ending the practice has freed up 8,000 workdays for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada officials.
—with a file from Global News’ Mercedes Stephenson
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