Thicker Canada-US border unlikely under Trump, ex-security czar predicts
TORONTO — The Canada-U.S. border is unlikely to see any thickening under president-elect Donald Trump despite the Republican’s protectionist campaign rhetoric, former American security czar Tom Ridge said Tuesday.
While Trump’s views on Mexican migrants and Syrian refugees appeared to be sharply at odds with Canada’s approach, Ridge said Canada needs to take a deep breath and wait to see what actually emerges from a Trump administration.
Ridge, appointed as first Homeland Security secretary in the aftermath of the 9-11 attacks on the United States, was fiercely critical of the campaigning Trump, denouncing his “bumper-sticker approach” to policy and a bombastic tone that “reflects the traits of a bully.”
Now that the campaign is over, Ridge said he hoped Trump would “substantially alter his approach” to borders.