Canada’s Fentanyl Czar

Message from Canada’s Fentanyl Czar

Fentanyl harms communities, shatters families, and leaves behind lasting scars. I’ve heard the heartbreak in the voices of parents, first responders, and health professionals across the country. I’ve also seen their determination to fight back.

Through my work to coordinate Canada’s national response to this crisis, I’ve met with people on the front lines, saving lives every day. Their expertise is shaping how Canada is acting. We are committed to decisions grounded in data and evidence, because lives depend on it.

We are strengthening borders and investing in the tools law and health professionals need, while also working with the United States through shared action. This is not just an American or Canadian crisis. It is a shared tragedy and a shared fight.

But this isn’t only about systems and enforcement: it’s about people. Every number is a name, every loss a life. And behind every victim are loved ones left to mourn.

That’s why we are focused on prevention and stopping substance use before it begins. We must all work towards ensuring those who are struggling can access the treatment and recovery supports they need to reclaim their lives.

Our mission is clear: stop the flow, save lives, and support communities. We will pursue traffickers with every tool at our disposal and keep moving together with urgency, compassion, and resolve.

Photo gallery

Interim Report

Canada’s response to the fentanyl crisis continues to evolve and intensify. The Fentanyl Czar’s Interim Report takes a wide range of perspectives into account and provides a clear-eyed assessment of what we’ve heard, and what we’ve done so far.

The report draws on extensive consultations with frontline workers, health professionals, law enforcement, and community leaders across the country. It highlights the critical actions already underway, while also setting the foundation for the next phase of Canada’s whole-of-country effort to stop the production, trafficking, and harm caused by illegal fentanyl.

This fight is far from over, but momentum is building. Read the full report to see how Canada is turning commitment into concrete action.

By the numbers

Canada is confronting the fentanyl crisis with urgency, precision, and transparency. While illicit fentanyl is a global threat, the facts show that Canada is not a significant contributor to the illegal fentanyl supply.

The Government of Canada is taking strong, coordinated action in our communities and at our borders, intercepting guns, drugs and other contraband before they can enter communities, while also seizing illegal exports before they reach the U.S. border.

The numbers tell a clear story.

Canada is not a major source of fentanyl entering the U.S.

Contrary to speculation, U.S. Customs and Border Protection data consistently shows that seizures at the U.S.-Mexico border far outpace those at the northern border by a wide margin.

In fact, from 2022 to 2025 (YTD), almost 71,000 lbs of fentanyl have been seized at the U.S. Southern Border, while only approximately 134 lbs were seized in Northern Border areas.

About one tenth of one percent of fentanyl seizures are attributed to the Northern U.S. Border. These volumes are far less than the flow of illegal narcotics into Canada from the U.S. While the volume of fentanyl entering the United States from Canada remains relatively small, both countries recognize there is room for deeper coordination and joint action.

Canada-U.S. collaboration at the border is already strong, and recent Canadian efforts have been welcomed by American partners as building on that solid foundation.

Fewer canadians are dying from opioids

After years of rising fatalities, data from 2024 has shown a decline in opioid-related deaths in Canada. Canada has seen a 17% decrease in the number of opioid-related deaths for 2024 (7,146) compared with 2023 (8,602).

While we have a long way to go, prevention, enforcement, harm reduction, and treatment efforts are beginning to have an impact.

Most drug and weapons trafficking flows north, into Canada

While Canada continues to closely monitor and increase efforts to disrupt outbound trafficking, the primary flow of illicit drugs and illegal firearms moves north, from the U.S. into Canada.

The vast majority of firearms used in crimes in Canada originate in the U.S., while international criminal networks continue to contribute to violence and drug-related harms in Canadian communities.

Ensuring strong and secure borders on both sides is not just a matter of enforcement, but a public safety imperative. Effective coordination between Canadian and U.S. authorities is essential to stopping the flow of lethal drugs and deadly weapons before they reach our streets.

Continued vigilance, intelligence sharing, and joint enforcement will be critical in protecting communities on both sides of the border.

Taking action

Canada’s comprehensive approach involves the mobilization of every level of government, every enforcement tool, and every community resource to stop the flow of illegal fentanyl. The scale of this crisis demands nothing less than a national effort. Canada is rising to meet the challenge.

From prevention and public health to policing and border security, our actions are coordinated, data-driven, and compassionate.

Canada is stopping fentanyl at home

Canadian law enforcement and border officials are identifying and disrupting fentanyl trafficking networks within our borders, often stopping the movement of illegal drugs before they can reach our communities or leave the country.

Canada is a partner in protecting North America

Sustained action, measurable impact

Canada’s fight against fentanyl is comprehensive and accelerating. It involves major legislative reform, expanded enforcement, modern intelligence sharing capabilities and better tools to detect and disrupt criminal networks. This work is already producing results. Fentanyl is being intercepted, clandestine labs are being destroyed, and criminal networks are being disrupted.

However, the scale and complexity of the fentanyl crisis requires ongoing, integrated action. This is why Canada is investing in both people and equipment, while also bringing forward tougher rules around precursor chemicals and financial crime.

• ✔ Strong Borders Act: New tools to help combat illegal migration, the illicit fentanyl trade, transnational organized crime, money laundering and terrorist financing.
• ✔ Canada’s Border Plan: $1.3B in a comprehensive Border Plan, bolstering border security, strengthening immigration systems and ensuring Canada's future prosperity.
• ✔ Listing of Criminal Organizations: Canada listed Transnational and Organized Crime groups as terrorist entities under the Criminal Code.
• ✔ Enhanced Intelligence Capability: Launched the Joint Operational Intelligence Cell to better leverage information sharing to target transnational organized crime, money laundering, drug trafficking and improve border security.
• ✔ New tools for CBSA frontlines: Imaging and chemical detection tools and technologies at high-risk ports of entry, detector dogs (in addition to 80+ detector dog teams located across Canada), and increased efforts at the National Targeting Centre.
• ✔ New Drug Analysis Centers: Expanding existing capabilities to provide scientific support in the enforcement of illicit drugs.
• ✔ Regulating precursors: Health Canada is moving forward with a tougher approach to regulating precursor chemicals, enhancing our ability to respond to emerging drug threats.
• ✔ Integrated Money Laundering Intelligence Partnership: Facilitates information sharing related to money laundering and organized crime activities across a core group of federal departments and large banking institutions.
• ✔ North American Joint Strike Force: Co-chaired by the RCMP and DEA, targets fentanyl production and trade, including precursor chemicals through joint efforts.
• ✔ Regional enforcement hubs: Two regional enforcement hubs as components of the Strike Force will be established: the Regional Integrated Synthetic Enforcement Teams (R-ISETs) and the Regional Integrated Drug Enforcement Teams (RIDETs).