Guess who’s coming to dinner?

June 10, 2025

By Bill Kilpatrick

On June 9 the White House gave notice that Donald J. Trump, the Commander and Thief … I mean Chief … sorry, I always confuse those, will be coming to Canada for the G7 summit from June 15 to 17. Let me get this straight, we are going to allow a man who has threatened our sovereignty, poisoned our political landscape, lead a coup d’etat, destroyed the world economy, is a known conspiracy theorist, sexual assaulter, adulterer, and a convicted felon to simply cross the border, because he happens to be the president of the United States? Excuse me, but WFT? Given that Trump has consistently eschewed the rule of law I’m going to argue no and here’s why: Canadian law actually prohibits it, on multiple grounds. If we let him in then we are allowing his disdain for the rule of law to creep into our country. This man needs to know that he can’t just do whatever he wants without consequences. He is not above the law.

On the Government of Canada web page under the heading “Can I enter Canada if I am criminally inadmissible?” it states “Normally you cannot enter or stay in Canada if you are inadmissible. However, there are ways of overcoming your criminal inadmissibility.” As I pondered a convicted felon’s visit, I could not help but wonder if he would meet the criteria that would allow someone to overcome their criminal inadmissibility. Is he the type of person that would be allowed into Canada if he was not the president. Let’s examine this shall we?

The Government of Canada states under their section on immigration and citizenship that “Under Canada’s immigration law, if you have committed or been convicted of a crime, you may not be allowed into Canada.” I would say this definitely applies to Trump gives his felony conviction on 34 charges. Keeping in mind that lesser misdemeanor charges for Trump’s falsification of business records were a possibility, but his crimes were so egregious that they were classified as the more serious “E” felonies and could have carried a four-year prison term for each count. It’s important to note that in Canada the maximum penalty for similar charges is a 10-year prison sentence. This is an important point that will be brought up again.

So, what can Trump do to enter Canada?

Well, according to the Canadian government’s web page there are some criteria that Trump must meet to be allowed into Canada. Trump can apply to be considered “deemed rehabilitated,” or he can apply for “individual rehabilitation” or he can apply for a temporary suspension and/or a discharge or he can apply for a temporary resident permit. His entrance depends on multiple factors such as what his crime was, how long ago it happened, and how he has behaved since that time.

In order to be “deemed rehabilitated” Trump, just like anybody else who has 34 felony convictions, according to the government of Canada, cannot be “deemed rehabilitated” and must wait to apply for rehabilitation status for five years. He may have been able to apply for rehabilitation status earlier if his crimes carried a sentence of less than ten years in Canada, but unfortunately for Trump they do not. His crimes in Canada would carry a maximum of 10 years. So, just by this standard alone the man should be barred from entering Canada, but there are other avenues he could take.

For instance, he could apply for individual rehabilitation which means that Trump has to prove that he “is not likely to commit new crimes.” The government of Canada defines rehabilitation as meaning “…that you lead a stable lifestyle and that you are unlikely to be involved in any further criminal activity.” This poses a few big problems for Trump as he does not lead a stable lifestyle and hangs out with criminals constantly. And just to be eligible to apply for individual rehabilitation he has to wait at least five years from the end of his sentence and he was sentenced on November 26, 2024. Meaning that the earliest that he can apply for individual rehabilitation is 2029.

Another important part of the rehabilitation process is admitting guilt, and Trump has a serious problem admitting to anything. When convicted by a jury of his peers Trump blamed the system and took no responsibility for his actions and stated during his sentencing that he “…was treated very, very unfairly…” adding that his conviction was only a result of the “…weaponization of government.” It must have slipped his mind that he paid off a porn star to keep quiet about their affair during his 2016 election campaign. If he refused to admit any guilt after a clear conviction, then there’s probably a 110 percent chance that he will do it again since he believes that he did nothing wrong. Currently he is appealing the conviction.

Trump could apply for a temporary suspension or a discharge, called a pardon in the United States, but it has to be validated in Canada. According to the United States Department of Justice there is a five-year waiting period after sentencing before someone can be granted a pardon, which means he can apply for a U.S. pardon the same year he applies for Canadian individual rehabilitation status.

Despite Trump’s clear ineligibility, he can try and enter Canada by other avenues as well such as applying for a temporary resident permit. Here’s the criminal loophole. The temporary resident permit can be granted to someone if “it has been less than five years since the end of their sentence or they have valid reasons to be in Canada.” According to the Government of Canada an immigration or border service officer is the one who makes this decision, and their decision would be based on the balance of probabilities relating to Trump’s “need to enter or stay in Canada” and whether that “outweighs the health or safety risks to Canadian society.” Given Trump’s contempt for global order, global stability, the rule of law and our national sovereignty do we think that his visit poses a serious risk to Canadian health and safety as well as Canadian society in general? Dam right it does. If this was anyone else besides the president of the United States Canadian border officials would not hesitate to deny this person entry into Canada.

It’s time for Prime Minister Carney to put his money where his mouth is. If Carney truly believes what he said when he concluded that “…the old relationship with the United States that we’ve had is over, and it’s proof and it’s a reminder, it’s a call to action that we need to chart a new path.” Here’s your chance for a call to action on a new path, deny the convicted felon’s entrance into Canada. If Trump asks why you did it, just tell him that the United States was sending us criminals and rapists and not their best people. Given Trump’s strong views on the subject, I’m sure he’ll understand.