On Friday, following this week's election results - which saw the party lose 674 seats nationally - she visited Peterborough to congratulate Paul Bristow, the newly elected
Canada and the US share the world's longest undefended border. Stretching almost 9,000km (5,592 miles), much of it crosses heavily forested wilderness and is demarcated by "The Slash," a six-metre wide land clearing.Unlike America's southern border, there are no walls. This has long been a point of pride between Ottawa and Washington - a sign of their close ties.
After Trump first entered office in 2017, the number of asylum claims skyrocketed, with thousands walking across the border to Canada. The number of claims went from just under 24,000 in 2016 to 55,000 a year by 2018, according to the Canadian government. Almost all crossed from New York state into the Canadian province of Quebec.In 2023, Canada and the US agreed to a tightened border deal that stopped most migrants from crossing the land border from one country to another. Under the agreement, migrants that come into contact with the authorities within 14 days of crossing any part of the border into either the US or Canada must return to whichever country they entered first — in order to declare asylum there.The deal, reworked by Trudeau and Joe Biden, is based on the idea that both the US and Canada are safe countries for asylum seekers.
This time around, Canada's national police force – the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) – says it began preparing a contingency plan for increased migrant crossings at the border well ahead of Trump being sworn in.This includes a raft of new technology, from drones and night vision goggles, to surveillance cameras hidden in the forest.
"Worst-case scenario would be people crossing in large numbers everywhere on the territory," RCMP spokesperson Charles Poirier warned in November. "Let's say we had 100 people per day entering across the border, then it's going to be hard because our officers will basically have to cover huge distances in order to arrest everyone."
Now, the national government has committed a further C$1.3bn (£555m) to its border security plan.Derbyshire County Council were approached for comment.
Six leaders standing for election to Derbyshire County Council outlined their views on a range of topicsSocial care, the state of the county's roads, tourism and trust in politicians were among the issues discussed during the event hosted by BBC Radio Derby.
The candidates were also asked who they would be willing to do a potential deal with in the event no one party gets a clear majority on the council.The leader of an independent party was also included, reflecting the wide range of independent candidates standing across Derbyshire.