Quebec Conservative Leader Duhaime won't rule out building wall along U.S.-Quebec border
The leader of the Quebec Conservative Party said Tuesday he's "not into building walls" but at the same time doesn't want to rule out putting one up along the U.S.-Quebec border to quell the influx of asylum seekers.
Éric Duhaime was faced with questions from reporters after media reports pointed out he had advocated for the construction of a border wall — so much so that he wrote he had purportedly consulted a contractor to get an estimate: about $53,000 in fencing per kilometre, he wrote in a Facebook post from 2017.
"If illegal immigration continues, serious consideration should be given to building a wall between Canada and the United Sates," wrote Duhaime, who, at the time, was a columnist and radio host.
Now the leader of a party that is gaining more popularity in the provincial election campaign, Duhaime said Quebec needs to take a stronger stance against the federal government to stop the thousands of "illegal immigrants" from flooding into the province through Roxham Road, an unofficial crossing near the Quebec-New York border
When asked Tuesday about his border wall remarks, Duhaime said, "we should not exclude any option to make sure that we're standing against Ottawa and telling the federal government that this is not acceptable. Quebec is not going to let in more illegal immigrants to come in than legal immigrants."
He explained a wall would not be his first option. "What I'm saying is that we need to make sure that we have all the resources to make a strong stand. And the first option is to have a coalition of parties because all the parties in Quebec agree that we need to control better our immigration. So we should work together and that should be the first option," he added.
LEGAULT'S 'TRUMP' COMPARISON 'COMPLETELY FALSE'
Days earlier, Francois Legault, leader of the Coalition avenir Quebec (CAQ) party, had compared Duhaime to former U.S. President Donald Trump for his criticisms of the incumbent premier's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and the province's strict public health measures.
Duhaime published his pro-wall remarks on Facebook in the months after the 2016 U.S. election that handed a victory to Trump, whose hallmark campaign promise was a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border following his controversial comments about Mexican immigrants.
Duhaime suggested it was not a fair comparison for Legault to make.
"Mr. Legault had tried to compare me to Donald Trump and it was not even on that issue, by the way, when he was comparing me to Trump. I think the comparison is completely false and our problem had nothing to do — we have a smuggling of immigration right now. There's a problem and we need to fix it," he told reporters.
Throughout the campaign, his party has pledged to close down Roxham Road, arguing that both Ottawa and Quebec have failed to show any leadership on the popular border crossing where more than 19,000 people have entered since the start of the year. Duhaime has also promised to gradually reduce immigration targets and, if elected, would select new immigrants based on western values, focused on those who have an ability to integrate to Quebec culture and language.
Radio-Canada reported on Tuesday that Roxham Road, which surged in popularity in 2017 after the U.S. presidential election, has cost the federal government about half a billion dollars in public funds, paid directly to suppliers and to reimburse costs incurred by the Quebec government.
Meanwhile, the number of asylum seekers at formal border crossings in Canada have surged to record levels since the federal government started tracking them in 2017. Figures provided from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to Reuters stated that in the first eight months of 2022, the RCMP intercepted 23,358 asylum seekers crossing into Canada at unofficial entry points.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Half of Canadians have negative opinion of latest Liberal budget: poll
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
opinion Why you should protect your investments by naming a trusted contact person
Appointing a trusted person to help with financial obligations can give you peace of mind. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew outlines the key benefits of naming a confidant to take over your financial responsibilities, if the need ever arises.
NEW 'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Canadian couple among tourists on sinking sailing boat tour abroad
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their “extremely dangerous” experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Ottawa injects another $36M into vaccine injury compensation fund
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
An Ontario senior called Geek Squad for help with his printer. Instead, he got scammed out of $25,000
An Ontario senior’s attempt to get technical help online led him into a spoofing scam where he lost $25,000. Now, he’s sharing his story to warn others.
Accused of burglary at stepmother's home, U.S. senator says she wanted her father's ashes: charges
A Minnesota state senator and former broadcast meteorologist told police that she broke into her stepmother's home because her stepmother refused to give her items of sentimental value from her late father, including his ashes, according to burglary charges filed Tuesday.
Twins from Toronto were Canada's top two female finishers at this year's Boston Marathon
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.