Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., speaks during Day 3 of the 2024 Republican National Convention at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, WI, on July 17, 2024.
President Donald Trump’s credulity-straining Cabinet picks (Matt Gaetz and Tulsi Gabbard, for example) are getting all the attention, but anyone interested in the relationship between Canada and the United States will want to know that two of his lower-profile nominees are no fans of the Canadian prime minister.
Trump’s next national security advisor, Rep. Michael Waltz, has a long track record of critical public comments about Justin Trudeau, suggesting he is weak on China and that Canadians should get rid of him.
Waltz represents Florida’s 6th District in the House of Representatives, which includes Daytona Beach, a frequent destination for Canadian sunseekers, which may explain his interest in Canadian politics.
In May, Waltz shared a post from Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre: “This guy is going to send Trudeau packing in 2025 (finally) and start digging Canada out of the progressive mess it’s in.”
Waltz’s dim view of the Trudeau government may strain security cooperation between the two countries, but Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, is more likely to be front and center at the conflict point.
Homan, the former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, will be in charge of implementing Trump’s plan to deport millions of undocumented foreigners. Homan is from West Carthage, NY, just south of the northern border, which he sees as a threat because of irregular crossings.
On Monday, he told a local TV station there that he intends to make it harder for illegal immigrants to get into the United States, promising to arrest any who try.
“We’re gonna lock you up,” he said. “So more agents, we’ll end catch and release, and President Trump will need to work with Prime MinisterJustin Trudeau and say, ‘look, you need to enforce the immigration laws you have because this is a gateway to the US.’”
Homan is not a Trudeau fan. “Find a better man,” he said in February. “He’s terrible."
Trump’s chosen deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, meanwhile, has called Canada “increasingly authoritarian and despotic” and referred to the PM as “far-left Trudeau.”
The Canadians are bracing for the impact of Trump, beefing up surveillance aimed at preventing crossings in the other direction. The likely result is a more heavily policed frontier, which could slow the trade that both sides rely on.