History of the Canada-US Border in the West
The following article is an editorial written by The Canadian Encyclopedia staff. Editorials are not usually updated.
In December 2001, U.S. Attorney-General John Ashcroft announced plans to deploy military personnel to patrol the Canada-U.S. border. After September 11, Ashcroft criticized Canada's porous border, though there was no evidence that any of the terrorists, all holding legal U.S. visas, came through Canada. It was not the first time that the longest undefended, and perhaps indefensible, border in the world was contentious.