WINNIPEG — It's been 11 months since Manitoba began using conservation officers as extra monitors at the United States border in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's claims that migrants and drug smugglers were pouring out of Canada.
But it turns out they didn’t see much at all.
“To my knowledge, they haven't actually seen any activity,” Ian Boushie, Manitoba's natural resources minister, said in an interview.
Kyle Ross, head of the Manitoba Government and Employees Union, which represents conservation officers, said he also had not heard of any incidents.
And in response to a freedom of information request by The Canadian Press, the Ministry of Natural Resources said it found no records indicating that conservation officers helped seize drugs, stop migrants or make arrests. The RCMP and Canada Border Services Agency referred questions to the Manitoba government.
The announcement last winter that 11 conservation officers would be moved closer to border areas was one of several moves by Ottawa and the provinces in response to Trump's threats to impose 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods.
At the time, Trump accused Canada and Mexico of not doing enough to prevent illegal border crossings and smuggling of illegal drugs such as fentanyl. Trump's position and rationale for specific tariffs later changed.
In Manitoba, the government has conservation officers already working in the southern part of the province, spending time closer to the border and alerting police and border officials to any suspicious activity. Premier Wab Kinew said the additional personnel could also step up humanitarian efforts if they encounter migrants exposed to cold weather.
The security plan, which also included extra overtime for RCMP officers and money for snowmobiles and other items, was estimated to cost $1.4 million.
It's not surprising that governments would be willing to tighten border controls and try to dissuade the United States from imposing tariffs on Canadian businesses, the political scientist said.
“The Trump administration actually believes that the Canadian government, the Manitoba government, is doing something to prevent human trafficking,” said Christopher Adams, an associate professor of political science at the University of Manitoba.
“This is just an example of what they can bring to the conversation by being in Washington, lobbying and saying, 'Look, we're doing the best we can and I hope you're happy with it.'
The RCMP and border officials continue to seize drugs and detain people suspected of illegally crossing the border without the assistance of security officers.
The number of foreign nationals detained after arriving in Manitoba on suspicion of illegal entry has been in the single digits in each of the latest quarterly periods, Canada Border Services Agency statistics show. And those numbers include people arriving at airports and other areas far from the border.
The number of people detained by U.S. Border Patrol in the Grand Forks area — a broader area that includes North Dakota, Minnesota and other states — on suspicion of illegal entry has been in the double digits in recent months, statistics from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency show.
Boushie said the announcement of increased border controls could have a preventative effect and dissuade some people from trying to cross the border. He also said that conservation officers are only deployed within their own areas and are not diverted from work elsewhere.
But the union does not agree with this. Ross said there are vacant positions in the conservation service, and working on the border leaves officers less time to enforce game laws and perform other duties.
“It takes them away from what they can do and what their day job is,” Ross said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 29, 2025.
