The Canadian border got dragged into the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign on Sunday, with a prominent candidate appearing to entertain the notion of building a giant wall on the 49th parallel, reports the Toronto Sun. The idea was raised in a talk-show interview with Republican contender Scott Walker, who after being pressed twice by the interviewer appeared to agree it was worth considering. Walker said the idea is “very legitimate.”
The Canadian Press called the northern border “a handy polemical tool” and suggested the TV interviewer was baiting Walker to respond to Donald Trump’s vision of a wall the full length of the U.S.-Mexican border. The idea would meet with resistance in Canada, given that more than one-third of Canada’s Gross Domestic Product involves trade with the U.S. Canada’s defense minister, Jason Kenney, said Sunday that the nation would protect what he called the largest bilateral trading relationship in economic history and outlined security steps already taken. “Of course we would vigorously oppose any thickening of the border,” he said.