NIAGARA FALLS — Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said Friday the federal government will fulfil an election campaign promise in its upcoming November budget with funding to hire 1,000 more Canada Border Services Agency officers.
Anandasangaree said Friday it will cost $617.7 million over five years to “train, hire and deploy 1,000 CBSA officers.”
It’s part of the Liberal government’s promise to crack down on cross-border traffic in drugs, illegal guns and stolen cars.
“This will greatly enhance our capability at the borders, ports of entry as well as enforcement within Canada,” Anandasangaree said at a media event in front of the Rainbow International Bridge crossing.
He also said Ottawa will boost the CBSA’s stipend for recruits for the first time in two decades, lifting it from $125 to $525 a week.
The government’s attempts to bolster recruitment will include legislative changes to allow those on the front lines to retire after serving 25 years, regardless of their age.
It’s the latest in a series of announcements by the Liberal government to spotlight measures in the coming fall budget, set to be released Nov. 4.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday Ottawa plans to hire 1,000 more RCMP personnel as well, including 150 staffers who will focus on money laundering, organized crime and online fraud.
Anandasangaree insisted these latest measures have nothing to do with the Trump administration’s demands for a crackdown on fentanyl trafficking.
“This really is about enforcing Canada’s safety and security and our sovereignty,” he said.
“This really is not a response to the U.S.”
U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly claimed illicit fentanyl flowing from Canada is causing a health crisis in the U.S., and has used that to justify unleashing a tariff barrage against Canada.
U.S. drug enforcement statistics show very small amounts of fentanyl are seized by U.S. agents at the northern border and U.S. government reports do not identify Canada as a significant source of the drug.
When asked about Trump’s claims, Anandasangaree pointed to previous measures the federal government has adopted, including its December announcement of $1.3 billion for border security and security legislation introduced after the spring election by the Carney government.
But the Liberal government’s plans for the border have run into harsh political headwinds — enough to force it to split its contentious border security bill, C-2, after struggling to secure cross-party political support in the current minority Parliament.
It recently shunted some of the less contentious measures in C-2 into new legislation, C-12, in the hopes of passing it swiftly while the other proposals face intense scrutiny in Parliament.
Critics warn C-2 would limit the ability of people to claim asylum in Canada and give Canada Post powers to open and search letter mail.
“C-12, I do believe, will have the requisite support to go through Parliament,” Anandasangaree said Friday.
He said the Liberals will “do some work” to secure enough votes to pass C-2.
The government’s promise to hire more RCMP and CBSA personnel has become a political target for Conservative MPs in Parliament.
In a series of testy exchanges at a parliamentary committee hearing on Oct. 9, Conservative public safety critic Frank Caputo asked how many of the promised new RCMP and CBSA officers have been hired so far.
“I asked how many were hired. Simple number,” Caputo said.
“I’m not here for your TikTok videos,” Anandasangaree shot back.
When Caputo pushed specifically for the number of RCMP hires to date, the minister deferred to agency officials.
“I’m not responsible for hiring of the officers,” Anandasangaree said. “The RCMP are preparing to hire 1,000.”
“That is a zero, I take it then, because you wouldn’t give us a number,” Caputo said.
— Written by Kyle Duggan in Ottawa and Maan Alhmidi in Niagara Falls.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2025.
The Canadian Press
