Red-clad supporters seemed to wear their buoyed faith in the resilience of the former president as armour heading into Day 2 of the party's national convention -- and its theme, "Make America Safe Once Again."

Speakers were expected to focus heavily on tried-and-true messaging about crime and illegal immigration.

Trump has given speeches about securing the United States-Mexico border at rallies across the country, and Republicans see the debate as an area of strength.

But it's not just the southern border at stake, with some right-wing lawmakers looking north.

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who was scheduled to speak Tuesday on the convention floor, is among those who have called for tougher measures at the Canadian border.

She was Trump's last major rival in this year's primary process and wasn't initially on the slate of speakers, but confirmed she would talk at the Milwaukee event hours after the assassination attempt.

Fears over border security are not isolated to the American political playbook.

Asylum seekers also came up as Canada's premiers met in Halifax for the Council of the Federation conference.

Quebec's Francois Legault, with the support of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, said it's clear the current situation in his province must change. He said some 190,000 asylum seekers now enter Quebec each year.

"The future of French on the Island of Montreal is in play," Legault said.

During his first presidency, Trump's policies on immigration and refugees contributed to a steadier flow of people crossing into Canada, with the largest number arriving at Roxham Road, an unofficial crossing between New York and Quebec.

The Safe Third Country Agreement between Canada and the U.S. means that people cannot claim asylum after legally crossing the border, because each country considers the other to be a safe place.

But a loophole allowed many people who skirted the official crossings to make a claim. Nearly 60,000 people did so after arriving in Canada from the U.S. between 2017 and 2020, about 40 per cent of whom were U.S. residents with precarious status.

The increased volume continued even after the Trump presidency wrapped up.

In 2023, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Joe Biden moved to close the loophole in their bilateral agreement, but despite fewer people making asylum claims -- 15,000 in 2023, compared to 40,000 in 2022 -- the Quebec government has continued sounding the alarm.

Allison Prasch, an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin, said it's not unusual for political parties to campaign on safety or illegal immigration.

"Citizens want to believe that their government will keep them safe," the expert on U.S. presidential rhetoric said. "I think that is a desire that transcends political parties."

Focusing on crime and illegal immigration creates an us-versus-them dynamic that can be a powerful tool to win support.

All Trump has done is ramp up that rhetoric, Prasch said: "He was just willing to say the quiet part out loud."

Following last weekend's attempted assassination, there's a new narrative building around the former president, she said: in the face of violence, safety concerns and crime, Trump is resilient.

"He can rise above the chaos, literally and metaphorically," said Prasch, adding she would be watching to see how would-be voters receive that message.

"We must show the same strength and resilience as President Donald Trump," Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley told the roaring crowd Monday night at the end of the first day of the convention.

Trump wasn't officially scheduled to speak at the convention until Thursday, but did appear on Monday evening, his right ear covered in a white bandage.

Officials confirmed Trump's ear was pierced by a bullet when a man with an assault weapon fired from a rooftop near a rally Saturday afternoon. A rally attendee was killed and two others critically injured, before the gunman was shot by a member of the Secret Service.

Monday was a big day for the convention, with Trump formally elected as the 2024 presidential nominee and Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance announced as his running mate for the campaign.

It all went ahead as scheduled despite the unease following the shooting, as intensive security measures and a heightened police presence took over the Wisconsin city.

Trump has called for unity in posts on social media since the shooting, but some speakers at the convention took a forceful and adversarial approach to criticisms of Democrats and President Biden.

"They promised unity and delivered division," Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said. "They promised peace and brought war. They promised normalcy and gave us Transgender Visibility Day on Easter Sunday."

Transgender Day of Visibility has been celebrated on March 31 since 2009, and this year it fell on Easter Sunday, causing an uproar among some online.

Wisconsin is among the handful of states expected to be battlegrounds in this year's general election.

In 2016, it swung Republican when Trump went on to win, and in 2020 it went Democrat and helped put Joe Biden in the White House.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 16, 2024.

-- With files from The Associated Press.