Due north

National security | More manpower, more money, more dogs—and the Canadian border threat remains | Mark Bergin

BLAINE, Wash.— As two armed murder suspects raced north on Interstate-5 toward the U.S.-Canada border Jan. 24, about 20 unarmed Canadian border guards fled for safety. The pair of criminals accelerated up to 100 mph, plowing over a spike strip and through a border checkpoint before crashing into Peace Arch Park.

A Whatcom County, Wash., sheriff's deputy blocked the speeding vehicle with his squad car, and a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent fired his gun, wounding Ishtiaq Hussain of Pakistan. U.S. agents arrested Mr. Hussain, 38, and Jose Antonio Barajas, 22, of Mexico.

Canadian officials insisted that, despite their agents' actions, security was never compromised. But the stark contrast between fleeing Canadians and unflinching American gunslingers speaks volumes about the current state of border protection—and the differing approaches the two North American neighbors have employed since 9/11.