Prime Minister Mark Carney outlined the federal government’s plans Friday to strengthen border security.
The measures included hiring 1,000 new Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers, Carney said.
“These new officers will help crack down on the movement of stolen goods, illegal guns, and drugs, enforce import measures, and investigate unfair trade practices,” Carney said in a statement put out by his office.
The government will also increase the CBSA’s recruit stipend for the first time since 2005, Carney said, raising it from $125 to $525 per week, “to help attract and retain the next generation of highly trained border officers.”
The plan also includes expanding benefits for CBSA officers and other frontline staff, including the option to retire after 25 years of service regardless of age, without pension reductions.
“This change recognises their high-stress, high-risk roles and supports their long-term well-being,” Carney said.
He said the changes in benefits would apply to frontline federal workers, including border services officers, parliamentary protection officers, search and rescue personnel, and both federal and territorial firefighters, paramedics, and correctional officers.
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Speaking to reporters at a press conference on Friday, Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said the government would spend $617.7 million on hiring more officers.
“This funding will support specialized operational and analysts who identify individuals and Entities suspected of having links to organized crime, human smuggling, immigration fraud, and terrorism,” he said.
A spokesperson for Anandasangaree’s office told Global News that 80 per cent of the additional 1,000 personnel will be uniformed CBSA officers, while the rest will “include intelligence officers, investigators, and security screening officers.”
The Liberal government split its border security bill this month, hoping to pass some measures quickly and give more time for scrutiny of more controversial ones.
The new bill includes several measures from the previous one that would expand the coast guard’s role, tighten the immigration and refugee system, enhance information sharing on sex offenders and introduce stronger controls on chemicals used to make illicit drugs.
The government is still moving ahead with contentious elements of the first bill that would give authorities new powers to access personal information and search mail.
Those measures have drawn intense opposition from civil society groups.
–with files from Canadian Press
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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