Threats to impose tariffs by US President-elect Donald Trump have sparked a rift between Canada and Mexico, with Canadian officials saying problems at the two countries’ borders should not be compared.
On Monday, Mexico’s president rejected comments that were made after a meeting between Trump and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“Mexico deserves to be respected, especially by its trading partners,” President Claudia Sheinbaum said, after Canada’s ambassador to the US, Kirsten Hillman, told The Associated Press on Sunday that “the message that our border is very different from the Mexican border has really gotten through.”
Sheinbaum said Canada has its own problems with fentanyl consumption and “can only wish it had the same cultural richness as Mexico.”
Trump has threatened to impose a 25% tariff on goods coming from Canada and Mexico unless they stem the flow of migrants and drugs.
The flow of migrants and the seizure of drugs along the two countries’ borders are very different.
During the last fiscal year, U.S. customs agents seized 43 pounds of fentanyl at the Canadian border, while 21,100 pounds were seized at the Mexican border. Mexico’s efforts to seize fentanyl before it reaches the U.S. have been lackluster.
Most of the fentanyl that reaches the U.S. — where it causes about 70,000 overdose deaths annually — is made by Mexican drug cartels using precursor chemicals smuggled in from Asia.
On immigration, the U.S. Border Patrol made 56,530 arrests along the Mexican border in October alone, while there were only 23,721 arrests along the Canadian border between October 2023 and September 2024. During the same period, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported 1.53 million encounters with migrants along the southwestern border with Mexico.
Mexico is particularly hurt by Canada’s comments, as Mexican officials claim their government has fought for Canada in the past.
They claim Trump wanted to keep Canada out of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Free Trade Agreement in 2018 during his first term and that Mexico demanded its inclusion. It’s unclear whether that was actually the case. Trudeau also went further than Sheinbaum by meeting the U.S. president-elect earlier. The two leaders have been struggling to get some assurances before Trump takes office.
Hillman said Canada is prepared to make new investments in border security and plans to have more helicopters, drones and law enforcement officers. He also mentioned an agreement between Canada and the U.S. that allows migrants caught crossing the border illegally to be sent back to Canada.
He said there is no such agreement between Mexico and the U.S. On Monday, Sheinbaum revealed more about his conversation with Trump last week, saying he “agreed” that Mexico wanted to focus on intelligence sharing in counterdrug efforts, adding that “he said that was good in his opinion.”
But he said Trump would reject any direct U.S. intervention in Mexico and would continue to enforce the tight restrictions imposed by his predecessor on U.S. law enforcement agencies in Mexico. “That will be maintained,” he said.