Canadian companies and research institutions are urging their employees to avoid trips to the United States and, if they do visit, to bring recording phones and take cybersecurity precautions, Bloomberg reported.
In particular, such a recommendation was sent by the management of the pension fund Alberta Investment Management Corp (Aimco), which manages assets worth a total of 130 billion USD. They were advised to refrain from "non-essential" travel to the US, for example, for conferences, but travel to attend board meetings or meetings with investors is allowed.
The Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO), one of the country's leading pediatric institutions, and the University of Waterloo have issued information security advice to staff. Specifically, CHEO advises logging out of work accounts before crossing the border, ensuring that laptops do not store sensitive patient information, and bringing disposable cell phones instead of personal or work smartphones.
The University of Waterloo is asking employees to wear “clean“ clothes when traveling, and laptops that do not store work or personal information. These recommendations are related to the increased frequency of border officials checking communication equipment and computers of foreign nationals entering the United States. The Canadian government previously officially notified the country's citizens of a similar threat, urging them to “be prepared for checks, including of electronic devices, at checkpoints“.
Other countries are taking similar measures. The Financial Times reported on Monday that the European Commission has started giving its employees disposable phones and temporary laptops for trips to the United States amid concerns about espionage.
Relations between Canada and the United States have deteriorated sharply since Donald Trump returned to the White House. Canada, along with Mexico, were the first to suffer from the introduction of import tariffs by the US president. Trump has also repeatedly stated that Canadians allegedly want the country to join the United States as a country. Against this background, the country's residents have begun to boycott American goods.