Mullin Says Us Canada Security Relationship Fracturing Over Border Pressure
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said Wednesday that the us canada security relationship fracturing needs to be restored as he linked border-security worries to pressure from cartels. He made the remarks in Washington during a fireside chat with Canada’s Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree.
Mullin said the two countries need to keep working together because, in his words, “Some of the fracturing we have right now between the countries, we’ve got to figure it out because we’re not going anywhere and they’re not going anywhere.” He added, “And so what we have to do is quit focusing on our differences and start thinking about what we have in common.”
Washington remarks
The secretary said the Trump administration’s crackdown on criminal activity at the border with Mexico has cartels looking to Canada. “The biggest concern we see is what’s happening on our southern border being pushed up to our northern border,” Mullin said Tuesday at a Center for Strategic and International Studies event, adding that geography requires collaboration. His comments tied the Canada file to a broader border-security argument that is already driving U.S. policy toward Mexico and Canada at the same time.
The bilateral strain did not begin with Wednesday’s appearance. President Donald Trump upended relations with Canada through tariffs and threats of annexation, and last year he declared an emergency at the northern border to hit Canada with tariffs because of the flow of fentanyl. U.S. government data shows a minuscule volume of fentanyl is seized at the U.S. border with Canada compared with Mexico.
Tariffs on Canada
Canada answered with legislation and funding to boost border security. The tariffs remained in place until the U.S. Supreme Court knocked them down earlier this year, after which Trump replaced the duties with a 10 per cent global tariff using Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act. That duty does not apply to goods compliant under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade, known in Canada as CUSMA, and it will expire after 150 days unless Congress votes to extend it.
The administration is also looking for a more long-term tariff by launching investigations into forced labour in supply chains, including in Canada. That keeps trade pressure in the same conversation as border security, with Mullin’s remarks placing the security relationship squarely inside a dispute that now runs through tariffs, fentanyl allegations and customs policy.
Canada and the United States
Canada and the United States share the longest land border of any two countries in the world, which leaves little room for either government to treat the other as a side issue. Mullin was confirmed to his position in March following Kristi Noem’s controversial tenure in the position, and his comments show the Trump administration still wants cooperation even as it presses Canada on border enforcement.
The next clear marker is Congress, which would have to vote to extend the 150-day tariff if the administration wants to keep that duty in place. Until then, both governments remain tied to the same border and the same security dispute, with Wednesday’s Washington exchange putting the relationship’s repair on the public record.
