Trump Admin Will Make Canadians Staying For Over 30 Days In The U.S. Register With The Government As Tensions Escalate

The Trump administration will require that Canadians staying in the U.S. for longer than 30 days register with the government as tensions between the countries escalate, ABC News reported on Tuesday.

The measure is not necessary at the moment, but the secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, can unilaterally change the rule, the outlet added.

The measure, expected to go into effect on April 11, comes shortly after President Donald Trump escalated his trade war with the northern neighbor further, saying he will double announced tariffs on steel and aluminum coming from the country.

The decision follows that of Ontario Premier Doug Ford to impose a 25% surcharge on electricity exported to the United States, with Trump saying such actions will only stop when the country "becomes our cherished Fifty First State."

The president said the measure will go into effect on Wednesday and anticipated he will declare a "National Emergency on Electricity" within the impacted area, which encompasses Minnesota, New York and Michigan.

After claiming the country also "pays very little for National Security" and that the U.S. is "subsidizing Canada to the tune of more than 200 Billion Dollars a year," Trump said "the only thing that makes sense is for Canada to become our cherished Fifty First State."

"This would make all Tariffs, and everything else, totally disappear. Canadians taxes will be very substantially reduced, they will be more secure, militarily and otherwise, than ever before, there would no longer be a Northern Border problem, and the greatest and most powerful nation in the World will be bigger, better and stronger than ever — And Canada will be a big part of that," Trump added.

The new leader of Canada's ruling Liberal party, Mark Carney, has vowed to win the trade war with Trump. After winning the party's leadership contest, he said "in trade, as in hockey, Canada will win." "We can't let him succeed," he added.

The incumbent party can now either call a snap election or opposition parties can force one with a no-confidence vote later this month. Liberals have seen a significant boost in the polls since Trump took office. The party trailed conservatives, led by Pierre Poilievre, by 20 percentage points in polls at the beginning of the year, but the difference has practically evaporated ever since.

Originally published on Latin Times