Border Agency Saw Cross-Country Protests as Low Risk, but Increased Threat Language as Emergency Was Declared

A protester yells at police as they deploy to remove demonstrators blocking access to the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ont., on Feb. 12, 2022. Geoff Robins/AFP via Getty Images

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) assessed the threat posed by the cross-country protests and blockades as “low” throughout last winter’s events, its former president told the Public Order Emergency Commission on Nov. 16.

But at the time the Liberal government was invoking the Emergencies Act on the afternoon of Feb. 14 to deal with the protests, CBSA changed the language in its assessment to indicate there was a greater threat at hand.