Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is urging Ottawa to appoint a “border czar” before Feb. 1, saying it would demonstrate Canada’s commitment to addressing U.S. concerns on border security and help avoid tariffs.
Smith made the comments at an unrelated press conference on Jan. 29, hours after U.S. President Donald Trump’s pick for commerce secretary Howard Lutnick said Canada and Mexico can avoid tariffs by taking action to secure their borders.
“The one thing that we can do this week, in just the next couple of days, to have the best chance to avoid tariffs is to show clear and unequivocal action to secure the border,” Smith said. “This should start with the appointment of a Canadian border czar to work with the new American border czar to jointly crack down hard on fentanyl and illegal migrants.”…