NANAIMO, B.C. — In a Vancouver Island city best known for a

three-tiered dessert bar

that bears its name, three progressive campaigns are similarly sandwiched together, with each vying to be the “anybody but Conservative” vote.

But unlike the ooey-gooey custard filling at the centre of a Nanaimo bar, Nanaimo—Ladysmith’s three-layered progressive logjam is filled only with anxiety and dread.

“Nanaimo—Ladysmith is definitely a bit of an anomaly,” said Bruce Cameron, a pollster based in Vancouver Island.

Aggregator 338Canada shows the riding’s Liberal, NDP and Green campaigns in a virtual dead-heat,

with about 20 per cent of the vote apiece

, which may present a path to victory for Conservative candidate Tamara Kronis.

Cameron said on Wednesday that he’s wary of these numbers, but agrees that the strength of the riding’s NDP and Green candidates — incumbent Lisa Marie Barron and ex-MP Paul Manly — makes each a factor in the riding, despite both federal and provincial polls showing a two-horse race between the Liberals and Conservatives.

“Lisa Marie (Barron) and Paul (Manly) are both seasoned campaigners who know how to build an effective ground game,” said Cameron.

“So I guess the big question is, does ground game matter anymore in elections? I tend to think it does.”

There are noticeably more green and orange signs — and, for that matter, Conservative blue ones — along Nanaimo’s main thoroughfare than red ones, indicating that Liberal candidate Michelle Corfield has some catching up to do in terms of visibility.

Interestingly, the same four candidates squared off in a tight 2021 race.

Just over 2,000 votes separated the top three finishers, with Barron narrowly edging out Kronis and Manly.

Corfield finished well behind, raking in a still respectable 13 per cent of the vote.

Nanaimo—Ladysmith was

the last riding called

in the country, with a final count released two days after election night.

Cameron says he expects to see Corfield get a substantial boost the time around, with the campaign dominated by the threat of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs and economic aggression toward Canada.

“Since the start of the campaign, Liberal, NDP and Green voters have been almost entirely focused on the Trump threat, and who’s the best prime minister to deal with that,” said Cameron.

“And on that question, Carney is well ahead of the other leaders.”

Cameron said that, even with the advantage of incumbency, it will be hard for Barron to swim against the national tide of the NDP bleeding support to the Liberals.

“All the polls, and I’ve watched them religiously every day, are indicating that support for (the NDP) is melting away… They’re down below 9 per cent nationally.”

Barron, for her part, points to longer historical trends.

“

Nanaimo—Ladysmith

traditionally swings between orange and blue. The last time we had a Liberal MP was in the 1940s,” Barron told the National Post on Wednesday.

Barron also pointed out that she’s undefeated in the riding, while the Liberal and Green nominees have both lost multiple times.

“The current Liberal candidate is running for the seat for the fourth consecutive time, and in each prior race, she never attained more than 14 per cent of the vote. The current Green party candidate is also running for a fourth time.”

“(I)n the critical 2025 race, it’s clear in Nanaimo-Ladysmith we vote NDP to stop the Conservatives.”

Manly says that Barron is wrong, and he has the data to prove it.

“The polls we’ve done shows that I am the strategic vote here,” says Manly, speaking from his campaign office near the city’s waterfront on Monday.

Manly says that while the last two internal polls he ran, including one just before the late March election call, both show him running in second behind Kronis, a big challenge he’s already facing is convincing potential supporters not to put too much stock in poll aggregators like 338Canada.

“It’s just getting people to understand that 338 is not a poll. It’s a prediction, based on an algorithm, based on a national poll,” said Manly.

Manly, who first won the seat in a May 2019 byelection, said that 338 also undercounted his support in that fall’s federal election, where he won by an 8.5 point margin.

He lost the seat in 2021 but was elected to Nanaimo’s city council in 2022

with the most votes

of any candidate in the race.

Manly said that the NDP doesn’t deserve the support of the city’s voters, after failing to deliver on climate change, affordability and electoral reform, despite being given a seat at the governing table by the Trudeau Liberals.

“The confidence and supply agreement didn’t mention climate change. It didn’t mention a fair taxation system and it didn’t mention proportional representation,” said Manly.

“What we need is good strong voices in the House of Commons, for opposition to hold the government to account (and) be the conscience of Parliament,” he added.

Corfield told the National Post Thursday that the voters of Nanaimo deserved more than a voice of dissent in the halls of government.

“This election isn’t about protest. It’s about solutions — especially on housing, health care, and forestry,” said Corfield.

“I’m running to get things done for the people who live here, not just make a point in Ottawa.”

Kronis said that it isn’t just the split on the centre-left that’s given her the inside lane, but also the fact that the Conservatives are attuned to concerns in Nanaimo, and growing cities like it, about public safety and the cost of living.

“What I’m hearing at the doors is that people just feel that they can’t afford a fourth Liberal term of rising costs and crime,” said Kronis on Monday.

“It’s pretty much as simple as that.”

Nanaimo has been one of Western Canada’s fastest-growing cities in recent years, hitting 100,000 residents for the first time

in the 2021 census

. It’s also feeling some major growing pains.

StatsCan pegged Nanaimo as Canada’s

sixth-worst municipality for crime severity

in 2023, the most recent year for which data is available, citing increases in property crimes like shoplifting and auto theft.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre notably visited Nanaimo

in the campaign’s opening days

to roll out his tough-on-crime platform, announcing life sentences for aggravated human and gun trafficking convictions.

Nanaimo has also been hit hard by the opioid crisis, seeing

a 400 per cent

increase in overdose deaths between 2019 and 2023.

Kronis said that Poilievre’s promise last week to fund

50,000 residential treatment spaces

, if he becomes prime minister, was well-received in the community.

“Our announcement of 50,000 new recovery spaces has spread like wildfire across the community,” said Kronis.

“(People) are particularly happy that we’re focused on recovery, and finding a balance with enforcement and prevention.”

“They want to be compassionate, but also practical.”

National Post

rmohamed@postmedia.com

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To help you cast an informed vote, the National Post has put together an issue-by-issue breakdown of the parties’ announced policies, so you can compare them side by side.

Go to topic:

TARIFFS/TRUMP

 

Provide $2-billion “strategic response fund” for workers in the auto sector and related fields impacted by tariffs.

Build “all-in-Canada” manufacturing network to bring more of the auto supply chain within our borders.

Work with premiers to create national energy and trade corridor.

Levy matching tariffs on U.S.-made vehicles that are not compliant with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement.

Bring in dollar-for-dollar tariffs targeting goods and services that can be easily provided in Canada, or imported from a third country.

Use revenue from retaliatory tariffs to reduce tax burden, setting aside a sum for targeted relief to workers hit hardest by U.S. tariffs.

Cut taxes, regulations to stop flow of investment dollars to U.S.

Stimulate internal trade by paying out a “free trade bonus” every time a province removes one of it’s exceptions under the Canada Free Trade Agreement.

Zero GST on Canadian-made vehicles.

Cut off exports of critical minerals such as lithium and cobalt to the U.S.

Dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs, 100 per cent tariff on Teslas.

Change procurement to use more Canadian-made steel and aluminum for domestic construction and manufacturing.

Zero GST on Canadian-made vehicles.

 

TAXES

 

Cut lowest marginal tax rate by one per cent, saving two-income households up to $825 per year.

Cancel consumer carbon tax but keep and strengthen industrial carbon tax.

Cancel planned capital-gains tax increase.

Cut lowest marginal tax rate by 2.25 per cent over two years, saving two-income households up to $1,800 per year.

Add $5,000 top-up to tax-free savings account; top-up must be invested in mix of government designated “Canadian investments.”

Allow seniors to earn up to $34,000 per year tax free, $10,000 more than current limit.

Crack down on the ability of corporations and wealthy Canadians to use tax havens.

Eliminate tax write-offs for corporate jet travel.

Raise basic personal amount from $15,000 to $19,000, saving $505 for those earning between $19,500 and $177,882.

Permanently remove the GST from various essentials, including prepared grocery meals, baby accessories and monthly cell, internet and heating bills.

Keep the planned increase to the capital-gains tax hike passed in the 2024 budget.

Double the Canada Disability Benefit.

 

HOUSING

 

Waive GST on homes sold to first-time buyers for $1 million or less.

Invest $35 billion to build 500,000 per year for the next decade.

Waive GST on all newly built homes sold for less than $1.3 million.

Use demand generated from new home buyers’ tax cut to spur construction of 36,000 homes per year.

Incentivize municipal governments to cut red tape, development charges.

Cancel the Liberal Housing Accelerator and other federal housing programs.

Direct the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corp. to give preferential long-term, low-interest mortgages to working and middle-class families.

Build rent-controlled homes on public land.

Create at least 500,000 units of affordable housing in next decade.

DEFENCE

 

Get to NATO defence spending target of two per cent of GDP by 2030 at the latest.

Source more Canadian steel and aluminum for domestic shipbuilding.

Boost salaries for Canadian Armed Forces personnel, bolster recruitment.

Procure new submarines, heavy icebreakers for deployment in Arctic.

Build permanent Canadian military base in Iqaluit, Nunavut.

Double the size of the 1st Patrol Group of the Canadian Rangers, from 2,000 to 4,000.

Deliver two additional polar ice breakers to Canadian Navy by 2029.

Divert foreign-aid spending to military projects.

Cancel Canada’s F-35 contract with Lockheed Martin.

Build replacement fighter jets in Canada.

Increase NATO-target defence spending to two per cent of GDP by no later than 2032.

Invest in Arctic defence infrastructure such as marine search-and-rescue stations and small-craft harbours.

Give Canadian Rangers raises, reimbursements for the use of their equipment.

ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT

 

Create a system of incentives to reward Canadian consumers and businesses for making greener choices.

Strengthen the industrial carbon-tax regime.

Make public investments in energy-efficient buildings and electrified transportation.

Develop a carbon border-adjustment tariff on imports from countries deemed to have inadequate carbon-control policies.

Streamline impact assessment process to make clean and conventional projects easier to approve.

Work with provinces and territories to develop a national trade an economic corridor.

Eliminate the federal industrial carbon tax.

Repeal the Impact Assessment Act.

Reverse federal clean electricity regulations and emissions cap on oil and gas.

Pre-approve energy projects to restore investor confidence.

Create a national energy corridor guaranteeing the approval of pipelines, railways and other resource-moving infrastructure across the country.

End any subsidies or tax credits for oil and gas companies.

Retrofit 2.3 million low-income households with heat pumps, air sealings and other energy-saving modifications.

CRIME

 

Bring in mandatory life sentences for aggravated human, gun and fentanyl trafficking convictions.

Strengthen bail system by repealing Liberal bills C-5 and C-75.

Use Section 33 of the Charter (the notwithstanding clause) to reinstate multiple life sentences for those convicted of multiple homicides.

Permanently assigned a maximum-security classification to serial killers such as Paul Bernardo, keeping them in maximum-security prisons for the entirety of their sentences.

Pass “three-strikes” law requiring sentences of 10 or more years for three-time serious offenders.

 

HEALTH/SOCIAL POLICY

 

Expand dental care to households with incomes of less than $90,000.

Fund 50,000 residential treatment spaces for Canadians with addictions.

Keep parts of Liberal dental plan that are already up and running.

Alter Liberal child-care agreements to give parents more flexibility.

Deliver full public pharmacare within four years.

Expand dental care to all households with incomes of less than $90,000.

 

EDUCATION/TRAINING

 

Cover apprenticeship training grants up to $8,000 for students in the skilled trades.

Double the funding of the Union Training and Innovation Program to $50 million annually.

Increase labour mobility for skilled trades people between provinces and territories.

Reinstate apprenticeship grants of $4,000 for an appre

Expanding the Union Training and Innovation Program.

Create a special class of rapid employment insurance payouts for apprentices who leave the workforce for more training.

Increase labour mobility for skilled trades people between provinces and territories.

Allow travelling trade workers to write off all travel, accommodation and food costs.

OTTAWA — A Conservative sign in front of a Liberal stalwart’s home. That’s what’s happening in the Liberal stronghold of Mount Royal during this unusual spring election.

The home in question is that of Irwin and Ariela Cotler. Mr. Cotler is a world-renowned human rights lawyer and a former Liberal MP for the riding.

Ms. Cotler was a social worker known for her work with Montreal’s Jewish community.

The Cotlers are practically legends in Mount Royal. The former Attorney General of Canada under Paul Martin represented the riding in Ottawa from 1999 to 2015, and they are both influential within the Jewish community, which represents approximately 30 per cent of the riding’s population.

Having their support is therefore a big deal. Anthony Housefather, Liberal candidate and Mr. Cotler’s successor in the House of Commons, was proud to announce a few days ago that his “mentor” and “the greatest man (he has) ever known” had given him his support.

But then, there is a video. And a photo.

Ms. Cotler, standing outside the couple’s home alongside Conservative candidate Neil Oberman, announced that she was supporting the Conservatives, not the Liberals.

“I urge you, come out and vote, it’s the future of our families, our children, our grandchildren, and about all of Canada… Vote, of course, for Neil Oberman and the Conservative party, and I wish you luck,” she said.

Oberman’s post also showed a photo of him and Mr. Cotler shaking hands.

“Thank you Irwin Cotler for taking the time to share your wisdom and guidance on humanitarian issues that do and should matter,” he wrote.

Thank you @IrwinCotler for taking the time to share your wisdom and guidance on humanitarian issues that do and should matter and to your dear wife Ariela for joining our Canada First Conservative voices for change. #YourVoteYourVoice pic.twitter.com/ozTJihziig

— Neil G. Oberman (@NeilOberman) April 9, 2025

That was widely seen as an endorsement. Dimitri Soudas, who was Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s director of communication,

wrote that

“former Chretien era MP and Liberal Justice Minister endorses Conservative Candidate.” Canada Proud, a conservative group, also saw it as a show of support.

When he saw the post online, long time conservative strategist Anthony Koch’s jaw nearly dropped on the floor.

“I would say that it’s a massive story,” he told National Post.

“The fact that Ms. Cotler felt comfortable doing this in such a public way … suggests that this was very important for her and a matter of extreme moral principle,” Koch, who lives in Mount Royal, added.

In a telephone interview with the National Post, Mr. Cotler laughed off the situation.

“We’re a pluralistic family, able to adapt to different political leanings,” he said. No, there’s no tension within the household.

“It was always clear that I would support Anthony and raised no questions or confusions about it. Anthony has always had my support from the time that he stood as a candidate and in each of his elections, and there’s no reason why I wouldn’t support him in this election,” he said.

In Liberal circles, no jaws were found on the floor. Ms. Cotler is known to be an independent woman who is more conservative than her husband. In fact, in 2006, there were reports that

she had left the party

.

Mr. Cotler even confirmed that she had put up Conservative signs on their lawn before.

However, this situation is another indication that Mount Royal has a strange vibe going into this election.

For more than a year,

the Conservatives have been targeting this riding

, spending a lot of money and sweat to oust the Liberal incumbent.

They also nominated a “formidable candidate,”

in Mr. Cotler’s own words

, in a context where the Liberals were about to lose their Toronto stronghold of Toronto—St.Paul’s in a byelection.

Oberman, a lawyer who filed

an injunction on behalf of McGill University students against an anti-Israel encampment

on campus in 2024, has been doing the groundwork, knocking on more than 10,000 doors, interacting with communities throughout the riding, not only with the Jewish community, but also with the Filipino, the Hindu and the Bangladeshi communities, for instance. He has been meeting with thousands of voters, trying to convince them to switch their vote.

“People don’t leave the Liberal party. The Liberal party left the people. We were all left by the Liberal party,” said Oberman in a long interview.

The growing anger from the riding’s large Jewish population towards the governing Liberals, particularly their positions on Israel and antisemitism since the Oct. 7 terrorist attack by Hamas, has put Housefather in a tough spot.

People are scared to go to synagogue, to drop their kids at the Jewish daycare or school in the wake of many antisemitic incidents.

“It is one of the ridings with the largest Jewish population and therefore is one of the ridings that is the most scarred by what’s happened over the last 18 months,” says Liberal strategist and Justin Trudeau’s former Quebec advisor, Jonathan Kalles.

“And so that will naturally play, will naturally be a factor in how people decide,” he added.

Housefather, a veteran local politician who has steadily increased his majority since 2015, has seen his support dwindle in favor of Oberman. Cracks have appeared in the Liberals’ concrete fortress.

Oberman said, with imagery, that the Conservatives realized that the concrete’s “mixture of cement to water to gravel was not properly laid in the foundation” and that the Liberals “thought they had the perfect recipe.”

“This no longer concretes. What it is is a mixture of sludge that needs to be set aside. And I didn’t create the problem, by the way,” said Oberman.

At some point,

Cotler even advised Housefather to leave the Liberals

and sit as an independent.

Anthony Housefather declined our interview request.

The Red Fortress, once represented by former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, seems to have the Liberals and Conservatives in a toss-up at one point, when the Conservatives held a 25-point lead in national polls.

But the situation has changed in Mount Royal, as it has across the country, with Donald Trump’s constant threats to Canada’s economy and sovereignty.

It has also changed radically since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation in January.

Even if the Jewish vote does indeed lean Conservative, Liberal sources have told us that Housefather’s groundwork should lead to a significant victory. After all, the riding is extremely diverse, and part of Côte-des-Neiges is as red as a beet.

And outside of the Jewish population, affection for the Conservatives isn’t very strong. In fact, as numerous polls in Quebec and across the country indicate, support for Leader Pierre Poilievre is weak compared to Liberal Leader Mark Carney.

And the national momentum is gaining ground in Mount Royal. According to poll aggregator 338Canada,

the Liberals would easily win the riding

.

Irwin Cotler feels it too.

“I think Anthony has, from what I can see, an appreciable lead here in Mount Royal as well,” he said.

National Post

atrepanier@postmedia.com

• The mystery of Quebec City, the Tories’ beachhead in La Belle Province
• In Quebec’s nationalist heartland, voters ponder a Conservative rendez-vous

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Like several Liberal leaders on campaign trails before him, Mark Carney successfully completed the Hip Flip with guerrilla journalist and radio host Nardwuar the Human Serviette in a new video posted Wednesday.

For those unfamiliar, every time an election is called, the celebrity journalist born John Ruskin, who made a name for himself in Canada with quirky interviews of subject he’s researched extensively, tries to meet with leaders of the federal parties. And without fail, he’ll ask them to do the Hip Flip with him.

“That looks like so much fun. Yeah, why not,” Carney responded.

It’s not a campaign visit to Vancouver without a Hip Flip.

Thanks for the records and the trip down memory lane, @Nardwuar.pic.twitter.com/Sfl8oeta5p

— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) April 10, 2025

As described by

Board Game Geek

, the object of the 1968 Hasbro game is for two dancers to spin a piece of plastic attached to a plastic tub between them by gyrating their bodies. The duo that spins the longest wins.

In Carney’s case, as it was for others before him, he achieved a single rotation.

Jagmeet Singh, who had already done it with Nardwuar during the 2019 and 2021 campaigns, was also featured in

a new Hip Flip video on Wednesday.

Other Liberals bosses who have taken part include Paul Martin, Jean Chretien, Michael Ignatieff and Justin Trudeau. Stephane Dion,

when asked during a press conference, refused.

When Nardwuar approached former Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s team about a meeting and Hip Flip attempt in 2004, the journalist was carried away by security as he pleaded with the former Conservative Party of Canada leader.

Others to have played along include former B.C. premiers Christy Clark and John Horgan, and former Green Party of Canada leader Annamie Paul.

The hip flip with Carney was a culmination of a 13-minute interview that was classic Nardwuar from start to finish, but also shed some light on Liberal leader.

Here’s what else we learned about the Liberal leader in his interview with Nardwuar.

Gifts galore

Carney’s aides likely left the get-together with their hands full, their boss having been gifted several vinyl records.

The first was a 45 RPM vinyl of King Richard’s Army’s 1982 single and iconic arena rock song

“Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye”

which featured Vancouver Canucks goaltender Richard Brodeur as the cover art. The album was released during the team’s quest for the Stanley Cup that year, led by the netminder. (They were swept by the formidable defending New York Islanders.)

“I coveted that Northland goal stick, but I could never afford it,” said Carney, who grew up tending the crease and was a third-string goalie at Harvard.

Next up, following a chat about The Clash, is a copy of the band’s “The Cost of Living” E.P., which features the iconic “I Fought The Law”, followed by a copy of their seminal record, “London Calling.”

“I will say one other thing about The Clash, which I think people remember, that their first drummer was Tory Crimes. Hmm,” he said, looking into the camera.

The play on words was an alias of the band’s first percussionist, Terrence Chimes, whom they chose not to credit on the first album after he dropped out.

Perhaps the most obscure gift is a copy of

a 1980 recording of a letter

written by a seven-year-old Michigan girl named Shelley Looney, thanking Canada for

its part in the 1979 Iran hostage crisis.

The letter ends with a postscript that says Canada has a “special place” in both her and her country’s heart.

“That’s good to know,” Carney said with a chuckle, “that’s a cold, cold heart. The black heart of America. Thank you, Shelley. We should track her down, maybe she could run for office.”

Some expert Canadian hockey fans might already be familiar with Looney. She grew up to become a Team USA hockey player who scored a game-winning goal against Canada in the gold medal game of the 1998 Winter Olympics in Japan.

He’s also given a copy of The Window Jumper’s “The Crash of ‘87” on vinyl and asked how tariffs will affect record production in 2025.

“A lot of creativity comes out of adversity, you find over the years. The Window Jumpers being exhibit A.”

He’s also given a Charli XCX’s “Brat” on vinyl, and mistakes it for “early XCX.” Still, he’s a fan, having come across her while serving as the Bank of England governor from 2010 to 2020.

Nardwaur also hands over a 1962 “Diefen Dollar,” a phony currency rolled out as an election prop by opponents of then Progressive Conservative prime minister John Diefenbaker’s government’s decision to devalue the Canadian dollar against the U.S. dollar. The Tories were reduced to a minority government.

“There was a crisis because the Diefenbaker government effectively fired the governor of the Bank of Canada, which is not a good idea if you want independent decisions and inflation under control,” Carney said, referencing James Elliot Coyne, who resigned after conflict with the Tories.

“It’s interesting how history rhymes because now another conservative government is threatening to do similar things,” he added, referring to past vows by Pierre Poilievre to fire current Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem.

The last item is a copy of a record produced by the CBC when it had its own record label, giving Carney an opportunity to express his support for the national broadcaster, which his opponent has vowed to defund.

He’s down with Down With Webster

Keen-eared politicos will notice Carney’s stump speeches often end with Down With Webster’s anthemic “Time To Win,” and he’s even thrown up the Canadian millennial rock band’s

“W” hand gesture as it rings out.

Turns out, he and his wife, Diana Fox Carney, were attending a performance by Canadian alternative rock band Sweet Thing at the Bronson Centre in Ottawa and stuck around to see Down With Webster. He’s been a “huge fan” ever since.

Carney quickly points out that the Liberals “employ them” for use of the music.

Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.

Telling a client to take a burner phone with them to the U.S. is “the stupidest advice” you could give, says a Toronto-based immigration lawyer.

Canadians travelling to the U.S. are facing increased scrutiny by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers, which has led to fears of detainment or denial of entry based on the contents of travellers’ devices.

However, presenting a burner phone is the equivalent of “turning the lights off” and then telling a border officer, “Okay, now search me,” says Evan Green, one of the two managing partners, with Green and Spiegel.

“It’s an indication that you have something to hide. It’s negligent advice,” he told National Post.

Here’s a look at your rights at the U.S. border

This past weekend, the Canadian government

revised its U.S. travel advisory

to warn travellers about the extensive powers of U.S. border officers, emphasizing the need for acting prudently.

Searches of devices

such as phones and laptops can include accessing text messages and social media activity. CBP

officers can search devices

without any evidence of wrongdoing, including demanding passwords to unlock phones, laptops, or tablets. Refusing to unlock devices could lead to confiscation, delays, denial of entry, or even detention while awaiting deportation.

David Garson, managing partner with Toronto-based Garson Immigration Law, shares the view that presenting a burner phone will simply arouse suspicion.

The Customs and Border Protection officers “are trained in this kind of thing.” Presenting a phone with no texts and no social media is more likely to make the officer think, “Wait a minute. Isn’t this strange. This person has something to hide,” Garson told National Post.

And it may result in “a domino effect,” leading to you being barred from entering the country, he adds.

Device searches have been rare, says Garson, less than one per cent of potential entrants in 2024. The American Civil Liberties Union confirms this. A recent ACLU statement says U.S. Customs and Border Protection searches of electronic devices at the border are relatively uncommon, even if they have been increasing in frequency.

In 2024, CBP reported that

only 0.1 per cent of travellers

crossing the border had their devices searched. However, says the ACLU, the number of searches has grown significantly over the years: CBP

searched over 41,000 devices in 2023

, compared to just 8,503 in 2015.

What should you do to minimize risk of search at the U.S. border?

The bottom line, says Green, is that “the rules haven’t changed, even if the refs are calling it more strictly.” Anyone crossing into the U.S. still has to answer the questions, he adds.

Green advises travellers, whether they’re going to the United States for business or pleasure to carry all their back-up documents. “Take your flight itinerary, a copy of your hotel reservation, a letter from your employer about the conference you’re attending or the theatre tickets to the Broadway shows you’re going to see.”

Canadian ‘nonimmigrants’ travelling to the U.S. exempt from new fingerprinting requirement

It should be noted that travellers seeking entry don’t have much of a leg to stand on if they insist on their rights. “Not a helluva lot” once you’re on U.S. soil, says Garson. The U.S. doesn’t extend the same rights to non-immigrants that Canada does.

However, Garson suggests there are small things you can do. For example, he suggests that you don’t give the border patrol officer the code needed to access your phone. “Open it yourself.”

His best advice to Canadians is to “self-assess.” Cut the risk of being barred from the U.S. could mean asking yourself about how you have been active on social media or in attending anti-U.S. rallies. If you are barred from entry, a future desire to enter the U.S. will require a waiver to do so, he cautions.

Will anti-Trump social media posts prevent you from getting into the U.S.?

But what about those anti-Trump social media posts? Will they prevent you from getting into the country? “No,” Green insists. “Half the country didn’t vote for him.”

Though Green had one person call his firm about being refused entrance. That person had antisemitic content on his device, he says.

On that point, Garson is also cautious. “They are starting to look at evidence of antisemitism more seriously.”

Entering the U.S. by air provides more flexibility for Canadians who aren’t comfortable with questions from U.S. border authorities. While still on Canadian soil, you can decide not to go south. You don’t have that luxury if you are entering by land and are on U.S. soil when you’re being questioned. Then you can be detained while awaiting deportation.

While on Canadian soil “the only reason for the border officers to hold you is if they think you have committed a crime. In that case, they will contact local police,” says Green.

Garson agrees that pre-flight areas in Canadian airports offer more flexibility.

Still, he says, travellers should keep in mind that one million people a week apply to enter the U.S. “If you’re going to do what you say you’re doing, you’ll be all right. If you’re evasive, it signals you have something to hide.”

Ultimately, says Green: “Just be polite. Answer the questions. Have the documents needed to support your answers.”

• Canadians travelling to the U.S. may be affected by new registration requirements
• What are some reasons Canadians may be denied entry at the U.S. border?

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