Alberta border residents welcome RCMP’s Black Hawk helicopters

“Undesirables or criminals — those are the kind of people walking through my land to get into Canada.”

That’s how Cardston County rancher Layne Cook reacted to news the RCMP now have Black Hawk helicopters to help patrol the Canada-U.S. border between Alberta and the state of Montana.

Cook’s family settled the area in 1889 and there is just over three kilometres of his land that sits right along on the border.

Until now, if Cook saw something suspicious, the nearest RCMP detachment is in the town of Cardston, about 25 km north.

“We’ve had multiple people cross the border from the U.S. coming into Canada. We’ve called the RCMP and most the time, by the time they get here, there’s not much they can do because they’re gone.”

“It’s my safe space — and having people that you don’t want walking through your yard is not a good feeling,” added Cook.

“It’s not much different than living in the city and having somebody walk through your backyard, snooping in your door.”

While it’s more common for Cook to see people coming north across the border, Cook has seen people headed south, trying to get from Canada into the U.S.

“It’s not been as prevalent as the U.S. coming up,” said Cook, “because they know that the U.S. Border Patrol is on.

“I’ve seen the U.S. Border Patrol right along the fence many times while I’ve been out and I know they have cameras up, so they have ways of tracking and seeing who’s coming into the United States, where we have nothing.”

The RCMP said the flights along the U.S.-Canada border began Tuesday. Similar such flights have already begun in Manitoba.

The helicopter will patrol the Prairie border to search for, and target, all illegal activity along the border region.

The range of the Black Hawks depends on fuel, with the standard amount allowing them to travel about 590 km, though the range can be extended to more than 2,000 km if auxiliary tanks are added.

RCMP said this includes searching for people who illegally cross over into Canada between border crossings and for the human smugglers who facilitate those journeys.

RCMP said the Black Hawk will also be used to detect and stop smuggling and trafficking of contraband such as illegal drugs into, and out of, Canada.

The helicopters will have police officers on-board who can respond to any spot near the border where illegal activity may be taking place.

The helicopters can also be used to help direct Integrated Border Enforcement Team officers, who patrol the Alberta border in vehicles on the ground, to any suspicious activity.

Police added the Black Hawks allow those on board to fast-rope down without the helicopter needing to land, giving them the ability to extract and hoist to remove people as well.

“I’m happy that our government is finally doing their part,” Cook said.

“This is something that has been lax and should have been taken care of a long time ago. So the more people start to realize that we’re patrolling our border — on our side — border security will be a lot better.”

Cook’s comments are echoed by Murray Millward, chief administrative officer for Cardston County, which shares a 91-km border with Montana.

“I think they (Black Hawk helicopters) are a good thing,” Millward told Global News.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said her government invited American network Fox News to the Coutts border crossing to help demonstrate Alberta’s efforts to beef up security.

The helicopters are part of Canada’s plan to beef up patrols of the U.S.-Canada border.

The government is deploying a range of other security measures as well, such as using drones and surveillance towers, and acquiring new technology such as x rays, mobile x rays, and handheld chemical analyzers.

As someone who often crosses the border, Millward said he has also seen American helicopters on patrol.

“Actually, (I was) going through the border one time and one flew over,” added Millward.

“I’m sure it’s just a regular routine flight they make, but yeah, we have been on the border and I don’t know if they’ve got sensors or what, but you can be down there and all of a sudden something will come — a  helicopter — so I think they do have sensors and monitors.

Murray Millward, Murray Millward, CAO for Cardston County, Alta., says he’s glad to see stepped up patrols along the Canada-U.S. border — something he describes as ‘good neighbours’ helping each other out.

“To be honest, people come through Canada to get to the States — if we can help stop that — or if we can stop someone who wants to leave America and come up here and has an inappropriate past, why do we want them in the country?”

“Knowing the fact that it might deter somebody is the best thing, right?” added Cook.

“They never know when the helicopter’s going to fly over, but them knowing we’ve stepped up our game, that will help deter people.”

Alberta RCMP said people who live near the U.S. border may hear and see the helicopter on a regular basis. RCMP said this will be normal police operations and there’s no cause for any public safety concern.

Global News has previously reported that a senior government source had said Trudeau was ready to beef up border security by buying new helicopters for patrol. A national security source had said at the time that the RCMP has sought helicopter capabilities for the border for years.

In December 2024, the federal government said it is proposing a joint strike force and an “around the clock” aerial surveillance unit for ports of entry as part of its plan to tackle issues at the U.S.-Canada border amid growing pressure from Trump.

The planned North American joint strike force was one of several announcements that came from the government’s fall economic statement, which saw $1.3 billion announced for added border security measures.

— With files from Karen Bartko, Sean Previl and Uday Rana, Global News

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