What happens to our Strong Borders Act if we ever elect a Canadian Trump?

Because we almost did.

I don't think Canadians have yet realized how lucky we are. 

Only a coincidental confluence of unforeseen and extraordinary events in the six months between November 2024 to April 2025 prevented the election of Pierre Poilievre as our Prime Minister. 

So now the Carney government we are happy to support has introduced the Strong Borders Act (Bill C-2)

Canada’s new government just introduced the Strong Borders Act — focused on safety, security, and integrity. It strengthens: 🔹 Border inspections 🔹 Coast Guard patrols & intel 🔹 Immigration + asylum systems 🔹 Anti-money laundering rules 🔹 Canada Post’s authority to stop crime by mail

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— Chris Bittle (@chrisbittle.bsky.social) June 3, 2025 at 2:44 PM

Despite some on-line freaking-out, I think likely its all going to be just fine as long as (big-L or small-l) Liberals are leading government.
But I wonder what happens when (big-C or small-c) Conservatives get elected again -- as they inevitably will someday, either under Poilievre or, more likely, Doug Ford. 

And I'm not the only one who is concerned.
Because of course its not just Carney or even Poilievre or Ford themselves that we need to worry about -- it is the license a bill like the Strong Borders Act could give to their deputies and department heads and security troopers and Coast Guard officers and Information Technology dweebs and RCMP constables and police officers and all the rest who could go overboard when they implement the new Strong Borders powers and policies. 
In the name of carrying out Trump's agenda, we are already seeing this kind of zealous, excessive, immoral overreach in the United States -- remember that Trump has passed very little legislation yet, so in theory his government should still be operating mostly under the same laws and regulations he inherited from Biden. 

But Trump hired people like Stephen Miller and Pam Bondi and Kash Patel and Dan Bongino and Pete Hegseth and Kristi Noem and Tulsi Gabbard and Tom Holman, and he unleashed the J6 rioters and the Proud Boys, and all of them are now, enthusiastically and excessively, storm-trooping around the streets, roughing people up, and tossing innocent people into prisons without lawyers or trials 

They all think they are "just following orders" -- Trump's blizzard of Executive Orders . These actually do not have the force of law at all, but they have been interpreted as such - and now American law enforcement is running wild in the streets - this is, after all, the nation that invented Gitmo, Abu Gharib, and Bagram.

And no, I don't think that under a Carney government we would seriously risk having our RCMP or the Canadian Border Services Agency or municipal police forces or CSIS think they can abuse the new authority they will get under the new Strong Borders Act.
But under a prime minister with fewer scruples -- someone who might also hire people without ethics or morals precisely because they have no ethics or morals - maybe it could happen here too.

Events now in the United States are horrifying:

Masked men with AR-15’s mounting suppressors to pick up cooks at a Mexican restaurant? This has nothing to do with detaining immigrants. It’s to terrorize us.

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— Fred Wellman (@fpwellman.bsky.social) June 4, 2025 at 1:29 PM

The NYPD and ICE mistakenly arrested a Chilean woman on vacation in New York City and police left her 12 year old daughter on the street alone. She was released 8 hours later. Is THIS what we’ve become? Fuck Trump and every Republican who doesn’t stand up to him

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— johannamariew.bsky.social (@johannamariew.bsky.social) June 4, 2025 at 6:19 PM

ICE dressed up like utility workers who offer "free estimates" if invited inside. Neighbor recorded the ICE goons and intervened, just before a young boy let them into his home. Tucson Electric Power was not told ICE agents would be impersonating their utility workers as part of the ICE raid.

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— StrictlyChristo 🦋🇺🇦🌻❌👑 (@strictlychristo.bsky.social) June 3, 2025 at 1:36 PM

newrepublic.com/post/196138/... ICE Invaded Child’s Birthday Party Claiming It Was a Gang Meeting | The New Republic

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— LeftonMain (@leftonmainst.bsky.social) June 4, 2025 at 3:16 PM

White Supremacist Tattoo Spotted on ICE Thug www.dailykos.com/stories/2025...

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— tatzanx (@tatzanx.bsky.social) June 4, 2025 at 3:13 PM

We must stand up against this senseless cruelty.

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— George Takei (@georgetakei.bsky.social) June 4, 2025 at 12:47 PM

1/3. Top ICE officials ordered agents to “turn the creative knob up to 11” to arrest more people this weekend—including so-called “collaterals” with no warrants & no charges. This is a calculated cruelty campaign to terrorize immigrant communities, not enforce the law. tinyurl.com/NO-Warrants

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— Jennifer ✨Get In Good Trouble (@thejenniwren.teamlh.social) June 4, 2025 at 9:57 AM

2/3 Emails state: “Push the envelope.” “Handcuffs = worth pursuing.” This isn’t law enforcement—it’s hunting. ICE is openly encouraging officers to arrest people they coincidentally encounter, without warrants, due process, or any indication of wrongdoing. This is how police states operate.

— Jennifer ✨Get In Good Trouble (@thejenniwren.teamlh.social) June 4, 2025 at 9:57 AM

3 Being undocumented is a civil offense—not a crime. But ICE is conducting mass “collateral” arrests with no warrants, targeting long-time residents, asylum seekers, & mixed-status families. No record? No matter. Agents are told to detain anyone “amenable to removal.” #OnYourSide

— Jennifer ✨Get In Good Trouble (@thejenniwren.teamlh.social) June 4, 2025 at 9:57 AM

San Diego neighborhood makes ICE agents retreat

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— Ted Cruz called the FBI on me (@weareronin.bsky.social) June 2, 2025 at 3:29 PM

like I totally get Nosferatu is putting a 🔫 to Brownshirts' heads demanding more arrests but ICE breaking the law to please Nazi Slenderman Steve Miller is still breaking the law (oh and I fixed Daily Beast's subhead) BIG 🧢 @norby36.bsky.social

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— Will Pollock 🏳️‍🌈🌻🐶🫘 (@willpollock.com) June 4, 2025 at 3:09 PM

“There are only two kinds of society in which armed agents of the government routinely conceal their identities: (1) Lawless failed states… (2) Authoritarian states… Stable democracies do not allow agents of the state to operate under cover of concealment.” www.thebulwark.com/p/the-secret...

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— Bill Kristol (@billkristolbulwark.bsky.social) June 2, 2025 at 12:29 PM

All this in just a few months.

The only institution America has left now is the Courts - and while judges across America are trying, they have only a ponderous and lengthy process while innocent people rot in ICE prisons or get tossed into airplanes and flown off to black sites.

Judges across the political spectrum, including 72% of Republican appointees and 80% of Democratic appointees, are ruling against the Trump administration at high rates, according to a recent study from Stanford. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

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— Democracy Docket (@democracydocket.com) June 4, 2025 at 1:02 PM

Friendly reminder to all GOP officials and voters: The President of the United States is a temp job. As such, Executive Orders do not supercede the Constitution. It's that simple.

— NewsCurrentNow (@newscurrentnow.com) June 4, 2025 at 11:30 AM

We don't need to have Canada going through the same shit, do we? Here is a roundup of opinions about the Strong Borders Act:

First, Dean Blundell takes a positive tone and maybe he's right -- there's a lot of good stuff here:
Dean Blundell

Mark Carney Just Introduced SWEEPING new border security measures to protect Canada from the Trump Regime/MAGAmerica.
1000 more border agents, clamping down on the RIVER of illegal drugs and guns flowing into Canada, Prime Minister Mark Carney just sent another warning shot across the bow MAGAmerica
...Mark Carney’s government just introduced a sweeping bill that rewires Canada’s immigration, border security, surveillance, and asylum laws—not to keep out “fentanyl-smuggling Mexicans,” but to protect Canadians from the real threat: the Trump regime and the chaos it exports.
While Trump is using fentanyl as a racist pretext for tariffs, Canada is living the reverse reality: an epidemic of U.S.-sourced guns, drugs, and extremism flooding north. The Strong Borders Act is the clearest signal yet that Canada sees America under Trump as a destabilized, unreliable, even hostile actor.
...This isn’t performative politics. This is a complete national security realignment, including:
New CBSA powers to inspect goods, mail, and cargo at borders and ports.
Coast Guard armed patrols to block marine smuggling routes.
Crackdowns on U.S.-sourced gun trafficking and bulk cash money laundering.
Asylum rules tightened, especially for border-hoppers who waited over a year to claim.
Tech mandates forcing encrypted communication platforms to cooperate with CSIS.
Also: Canada's mail laws are changing—fentanyl-by-envelope, a favorite cartel tactic, now faces the long arm of the law.
...When America sneezes, Canada used to catch a cold. But now, America has pneumonia—and it’s coughing up AR-15s and unregulated crypto cash.
Mark Carney’s border revolution isn’t about locking the country down. It’s about keeping the lights on in the last G7 democracy that still believes in rules, science, and character.
We are standing on guard, not because we fear refugees—but because we’ve stopped trusting the United States.

But Cole Bennett, Wesley Wark and Dale Smith all have some concerns:  

Cole Bennett / Cole.notcole

Carneys "BIG BEAUTIFUL BORDER BILL"
Tariffs, Tragedy and Breakups
The Liberal government introduced the Strong Borders Act (Bill C-2) in the House of Commons today, proposing significant reforms to Canada's immigration system and border security measures. While the bill encompasses various aspects, here are the most pertinent changes that may directly affect you:
🛂 Reforming the Asylum Process
...the bill grants the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration new authority to specify the information or documents that refugee claimants must provide before their claim is referred to the IRB. This change aims to streamline the process but raises concerns about potential barriers for claimants who may struggle to provide the required documentation upon arrival.
🌍 Elimination of the Designated Country of Origin (DCO) Regime
Bill C-2 formally repeals the Designated Country of Origin (DCO) framework, which allowed the government to categorize certain countries as "safe." Under the DCO regime, claimants from designated countries faced expedited processing, had no right to appeal to the Refugee Appeal Division, and were subject to quicker removal from Canada.
The repeal of the DCO provisions ensures that all refugee claimants, regardless of their country of origin, are afforded the same procedural rights and protections under Canadian law.
🚗 Enhanced Powers for CBSA on Outbound Shipments
... Bill C-2 expands CBSA's authority to include outbound shipments....
This measure addresses concerns about stolen vehicles and other contraband being exported from Canada, closing a loophole that previously limited CBSA's ability to inspect outbound goods.
✉️ Authority to Detain and Open Letter Mail ...
🛰️ Expanded Role for the Canadian Coast Guard
The bill amends the Oceans Act to include security and intelligence gathering as part of the Canadian Coast Guard's mandate. ...
📡 Mandated Cooperation from Telecom and Social Media Companies
... requires telecommunications and social media companies to assist law enforcement in investigations related to national security, money laundering, and serious crimes. This assistance includes providing access to encrypted and non-encrypted data when presented with a judicial warrant. Companies are also prohibited from notifying individuals that their data has been accessed...

Wesley Wark’s National Security and Intelligence Newsletter

Here we go—new national security legislation
Or, it’s not about border security, it’s about immigration
...What is the reason for C-2, why make it the lead-off? That’s a hard one to answer. Many of the technical elements are of a housekeeping nature. Sections of the bill are designed to deal with immigration issues (not specific to the Canada-US border, it must be said). C-2 contains news measures to deal with money laundering. It turns the ship of the Coast Guard in a new direction, to give it unspecified security and intelligence functions, suggesting a militarisation of the role of the Coast Guard. C-2 is also a crime-fighting bill, particularly with regard to new measures to tighten restrictions on sex offenders, and to allow for more assured access to data for criminal and security intelligence investigations.
In other words, it's a mish-mash. There is a lot jammed in under the chapeau.
...If C-2 isn’t really about border security, does it have some other beating heart? I think the answer is yes, and it is to be found in the provisions amending the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA)....Among the proposed changes to IRPA one really stood out for me. It involves new powers to the government to “pause” the acceptance of new applications to come to Canada; or even to “pause or cancel” the processing of applications already in the “inventory.” It is suggested that these powers would only be used to deal with health or national security emergencies, but they have an unfortunate Trumpian ring to them. [2] They also come with no checks and balances other than the need for the “Governor in Council” (that is the Cabinet as a whole, presided over by the PM) to decide on them.

Dale Smith / Routine Proceedings

...Meanwhile, the government introduced their big omnibus border bill, and it has a lot of troubling elements, from lowering thresholds for electronic data collection by law enforcement that won’t always require a warrant, and gives Canada Post more authority to open mail they deem suspicious. It also changes particular thresholds for asylum claims, and gives the government powers to simply stop claims or immigration processes with no explanation or apparent avenues for appeal. There are some positives, such as more resources for financial crimes, but in the grand scheme of things, I’m not sure it balances the negatives. The government claims they found the right balance that respects Charter rights, but I am dubious, and I suspect that law enforcement convinced them that they need these rights-violating powers and used Trump’s threats as a justification to get what they want. 

I'm not thinking that Carney shouldn't pass the Strong Borders Act, but I do think he needs to reconsider some of the provisions that might concentrate an arbitrary and secret power into an unaccountable agency or a single Minister's office, without any chance to appeal to a judge. 

Yeah, yeah, I know, why am I worrying about nothing when its so obvious that our intentions with the Strong Borders Act are all noble and necessary and good?

But as the United States is now finding out, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.