U.S. President Donald Trump is not “totally confident” with the security of his Northern border, he said at a news conference with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday.
Trudeau was in Washington to meet with the president for the first time. Though both leaders spoke of an evolving and beneficial trade relationship between the two countries in the beginning of the conference, the questions quickly turned to national security, immigration and refugees.
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It seems a tweet Trudeau sent in the wake of Trump’s recent travel ban, which was suspended by a judge at the beginning of the month, was still on the top of people’s minds.
Trudeau tweeted out “To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith… #Welcome to Canada,” after the ban was announced. Pictures of him hugging Syrian refugees at an airport last year were also circulated widely.
Trump, on the other hand, has attempted to ban some refugees from Syria, along with six other countries.
One reporter asked if Trudeau’s views on Syrian refugees had him questioning the security of the border between Canada and the U.S.
“You can never be totally confident,” Trump responded, before shifting the topic to how he is cracking down on criminals along with his Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly.
The Canada-US border has been a highly talked about topic in Canada in recent weeks as refugees have started pouring over the land border, which is the largest international border in the world.
Over the past weekend alone, over 20 refugees crossed into Manitoba and a Syrian family was arrested while crossing into Quebec.
Quebec RCMP spokeswoman Corporal Camille Habel told Global News the number of illegal crossings into the country has increased recently, with the most significant increase being seen in Quebec.
Though Trudeau didn’t mention that at the conference he said he was trying to be a positive example of openness.
WATCH: Justin Trudeau says he’s not going to lecture U.S. on how to govern
“Canada and the United States have been neighbours a long time,” Trudeau said.
“But there have been times where we have differed in our approaches. And that’s always been done firmly and respectfully. The last thing Canadians expect is for me to come down and lecture another country on how they choose to govern themselves.
“My role, responsibility is to continue to govern in such a way that reflects Canadians’ approach and to be a positive example in the world.”
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