'No wall': American rails against talk of northern border wall during Republican primaries

As America heads to the polls to determine which Republican candidate will be running for president in the election next fall, an issue has popped up again with implications on Canada.

Multiple Republican candidates have discussed enhanced security measures, even a wall between Canada and the United States.

“Don't just build the wall, build both walls,” said former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy during a debate in the fall.

He’s since dropped out of the race and is backing Donald Trump, who has recently said the northern border is "not exactly doing too well."

Last week, Nikki Haley, the only person still contending against Trump in the Republican primaries, said we don't talk enough about the northern border.

“The southern border is in terrible shape, but 500 people on the terrorist list, terrorist watch list, have come through the northern border,” Haley said during a CNN town hall on Jan. 17.

Speaking to reporters at an event last weekend, Haley pledged to “do whatever it takes to keep people out.”

“We will do a wall,” she told reporters. “We will do any sort of border patrol that we need to have on there. Whatever it takes to keep people out that are illegal from coming in, we will do it.”

According to stats from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 484 individuals on the "terrorist watch list" were apprehended at the U.S.-Canada border in 2023, compared to just 80 at the border with Mexico.

“The effort to do better always is at the forefront of the folks who do protect our borders,” said Marta Leardi-Anderson, the executive director at the University of Windsor’s Cross Border Institute.

“It’s absolutely crazy,” said John Adams, an American who lives in Florida but spends five months a year at his cottage on Vancouver Island, B.C.

Adams made it his mission during the pandemic to keep the border open, running attack-style ads aimed at the Canadian and U.S. governments. He’s once again on a quest to keep the border open and free of walls.

“No wall, no wall, no wall! No damn wall,” he told CTV News, saying he’s hopeful its empty rhetoric from the Republican candidates, but is ready to take up the fight through more targeted ad campaigns to snuff any talk of a northern border wall.

“The people will revolt against this on both sides. Americans won't put up with this,” he said. “When you start messing with people's lives, it's just not right. And I'll fight for them again.”

Leardi-Anderson agreed.

“Most folks are focused on the things that bind our countries. Culturally, we're bound friendships, family, but also our integrated economy,” said Leardi-Anderson. “Let's not let some rhetoric get in the way.”

Leardi-Anderson called it “the politics of politics” and insists that instead of putting up walls, leaders should focus on building bridges, like the $6 billion Gordie Howe International Bridge between Windsor and Detroit.

“It is a significant, once-in-a-lifetime piece of infrastructure,” she said. “That is the focus, key infrastructure that is built to purpose, built for trade, built for the movement of people and goods with state of the art technology state of the art security features.”

“That is what is going to deter the bad guys and keep the trade flowing,” she said.