Nearly a dozen Manitoba conservation officers redeployed to help secure U.S. border

January 27, 2025 Canuck

Manitoba has unveiled details of a plan to send additional resources to the U.S. border as the province primes itself for the impacts of a second Donald Trump presidency north of the 49th parallel.

About 11 conservation officers began conducting patrols at the border in recent weeks, Premier Wab Kinew said in a press conference near Emerson, Man., on Monday.

The premier had announced the province was sending the officers last month in an effort to placate Trump, who’s threatened to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian goods entering the U.S. unless the country cracks down on illegal immigration and drug smuggling.

On Monday, Kinew said the move sends the message to the U.S. the province is serious about keeping the border secure, but it also answers to a humanitarian call.

Observers have warned Trump’s mass deportation plans may lead to a surge of migrants crossing into Canada on foot. RCMP said earlier this month six people had been taken into custody after walking across the border only a few days after the president was sworn into office.

“Just recently, we saw people crossing from the U.S. into Canada who did not prepare for the Manitoba winter,” Kinew said. “Part of the humanitarian response is, if you see somebody … we’d been asking for you to help out.”

‘Eyes and ears’

The officers will be focused on secondary roads and backcountry areas between ports of entry along the border, the province said.

The premier said they will be able to intervene directly when they spot people who are in vulnerable circumstances.

A green highway sign reading "Emerson Junction 1.5 kilometres" stands in a snowy field. — Road signage is photographed just outside of Emerson, Man., on Jan. 20, 2022. RCMP said earlier this month six people had been taken into custody after walking across the border near Emerson only a few days after the president was sworn into office. (John Woods/The Canadian Press)

They will have side arms with them at all times, and rifles and shotguns in their trucks. But Kinew said that in situations involving potential criminal activity, they will only be tasked with alerting the federal authorities responsible for law enforcement.

“What we’re asking our officers here … is to just feed that information in, to be that eyes and ears, to help and be part of a coordinated response to secure the border,” he said.

The usual job of conservation officers is to patrol and enforce the Wildlife Act in the province.

The Progressive Conservatives have previously criticized their redeployment, saying it would further stretch resources amid a staffing shortage.

The province said there are currently 78 active conservation officers working in the field. Kinew said vacancy rates for conservation officers have improved under his government, but that it’s still at 10 per cent.

“There’s still more work to do. Absolutely we would like to hire more conservation officers,” he said.

“Manitobans are looking for reassurance and are looking for people to protect our province. We’re saying that our government is going to protect your jobs and our economy and we’re going to ask law enforcement officers … to help securing the border.”

A man sitting on a desk in an office. — ‘We are showing the United States that we’re taking our border security very seriously,’ said Dave Carlson, reeve of the RM of Emerson-Franklin. (John Woods/The Canadian Press)

Emerson-Franklin Reeve Dave Carlson said the move shows the province is using all available resources at the border.

“It’s great to help the RCMP out. We know that they are overstretched at this time. Even our local detachment is overstretched,” Carlson said during an interview on CBC’s Radio Noon.

“We are showing the United States that we’re taking our border security very seriously, and that … it’s basically a all-hands-on-deck effort.”

The province will be providing $360,000 for the redeployment. Kinew said. The government has also set aside $460,000 to pay overtime for provincial RCMP at the border as part of the plan, as well as money for Manitoba’s Motor Carrier Enforcement agency, and for the deployment of snowmobiles.

The budget for the border security plan comes at just over $1.4 million total.

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Nearly a dozen Manitoba conservation officers redeployed to help secure U.S. border

‘Eyes and ears’

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