To have Canada's foreign minister act as ring leader for a refugee's arrival at the airport was nothing short of tacky and exploitive, Scott Thompson says.

The total number of 'failed irregular-arrival asylum claimants' deported by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) between Jan. 1 and Nov. 5, 2018, was 296.

A new poll released Friday suggests two-thirds of Canadians think irregular border crossings are at "crisis" level. But Bill Blair, the newly-named Minister of Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction, said those concerns show many don't understand the issue.