Canadians Supporting Trump To Build Wall

© Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press via AP An asylum claimant and her two daughters cross the border into Canada from the United States Friday, March 17, 2017, near Hemmingford, Quebec

‘Build that wall?’ Some Canadians are calling for more border control, too. Candidates for leadership of Canada’s opposition Conservative Party are calling for drastic measures to halt the flow of asylum seekers fleeing the United States into Canada, including deployment of the Canadian army to detain would-be refugees as they cross the border.

This get-tough approach reflects public opinion surveys that show a hardening of attitudes among some Canadians toward the asylum seekers and immigration in general, placing political pressure on the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Canadian news recently has been full of images of migrants trudging across snow-covered fields and through icy ditches, hauling small children and suitcases as they cross into Quebec, Manitoba and other provinces from U.S. border states. The phenomenon has gained momentum since Donald Trump was elected president in November.

Kevin O’Leary, a reality-TV celebrity and neophyte politician who has taken a Trumplike approach to his quest for the Conservative leadership, says illegal crossings are “unacceptable” and that Canada must beef up its border security to avert a flood of refugees. “I don’t want what’s happening in Europe to happen in Canada,” he said in a recent campaign video.

Read in full