1 year ago, Alberta’s premier sought to lock down a ‘leaky’ border. Here’s what’s happened since
CBC
East of the small village of Coutts, Alta., a stone’s throw from the border with the United States, Cindy Bosch’s day-to-day life looks much like it did a year ago.
Calving season on her ranch is still a busy time, with long hours and late nights. Bull sales are important dates. Cows go out to pasture and come home.
It’s not all the same, though.
Look up once in a while and you might see a chopper.
“The cattle … will sit there grazing as the chopper goes back and forth,” said Bosch, who spoke to CBC News from her Angus cattle operation near Coutts.
“If anything, I think the hunters are mad 'cause maybe the deer get spooked.”
Black Hawk helicopters and additional border security became everyday parts of southern Alberta life this year after then president-elect Donald Trump threatened tariffs on Canadian goods unless Canada stemmed what he claimed was a tide of illegal immigration and drugs — specifically, the synthetic opioid fentanyl — flowing into the U.S.
Trump’s comments sparked a flurry of activity in Canada to bolster its border. And even in Alberta, on a section of the 49th parallel long thought to be quieter than in eastern provinces, the provincial government responded swiftly.
Federal enforcement has also increased this year, with a helicopter patrol that’s sometimes heard several times per week.
Residents of the County of Warner, which surrounds the village of Coutts, raised some concerns to Alberta Premier Danielle Smith directly at an event earlier this year.
Bosch said they wanted to know how life would change with the additional policing, including whether certain roads would close and how invasive choppers would be.
But Bosch said she believes the province didn’t intend to be intrusive in the area.
“If [there are] people jumping the border, we need to do something about it,” Bosch said. “And if this is going to help on the other end of trade partnerships, then it's just something we need to all get along with.”
Now, Smith says her government has learned the Coutts border crossing isn’t a hub of illicit activity — and that could lead to a focus on other areas.
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