Fentanyl seizures are up at the U.S. northern border — but Canada is still a very small player

The latest information from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shows an uptick successful the magnitude of fentanyl seized adjacent the American bluish borderline with Canada — but the quantities intercepted stay a tiny fraction of what's coming from Mexico.

The figures amusement U.S. borderline guards hauled successful a comparatively miniscule magnitude of the deadly drug in the archetypal fewer months of the 2024-25 fiscal twelvemonth — often reporting 0.5 kilograms oregon little seized — earlier a leap successful April and May, erstwhile officials captured six and 14 kilograms, respectively, adjacent the Canadian boundary.

Those busts mean much fentanyl has been seized on the bluish borderline truthful acold this twelvemonth than successful each of 2023-24. Between October 2024 and May, the U.S. has captured 26 kilograms compared to the 19.5 kilograms taken implicit the 12 erstwhile months.

At the U.S. southwestern borderline with Mexico, by comparison, officials person truthful acold seized immoderate 3,700 kilograms of fentanyl this fiscal twelvemonth — capable merchandise to perchance termination hundreds of thousands of cause users and easy dwarfing what officials uncovered coming from Canada.

A CBP spokesperson did not respond to a petition for remark for this story.

The borderline information does not connection specifics connected however oregon wherever the fentanyl was seized, oregon wherefore determination was a notable uptick adjacent the bluish bound successful the past 2 months. What is known is that determination were 7 "seizure events" successful April and 5 successful May.

In an interrogation with CBC News, Canada's fentanyl czar, Kevin Brosseau, said he's acrophobic astir the Americans taking successful much of the drug, saying a azygous gram captured anyplace adjacent the borderline is excessively much.

Brosseau said it's imaginable that, with U.S. President Donald Trump's absorption connected the confederate border, immoderate transgression elements whitethorn beryllium turning to Canada.

"If further unit is enactment connected 1 side, they'll look to spell determination else," Brosseau said of the cartels that determination these drugs.

"We've got to beryllium inhospitable," helium said, promising to proceed an assertive attack to intercepting drugs and those that postulation them. Prime Minister Mark Carney's authorities recently introduced legislation that would help do conscionable that.

"We're truly focused connected closing them off," Brosseau said of drug-toting criminals. "Anything going southbound from Canada ought to beryllium stopped."

While troubled by the flimsy uptick successful fentanyl seizures, Brosseau said helium took immoderate comfortableness from a caller study by the Manhattan Institute, a U.S.-based think-tank, that shows Canada has not been the main supplier of fentanyl to the States — acold from it.

From 2013 to 2024, 99 per cent of pills and 97 per cent of powder-form fentanyl captured successful ample seizures astatine U.S. onshore borders came from Mexico, researchers recovered — with "large" being defined arsenic implicit a kilogram of pulverization oregon much than 1,000 pills, quantities indicative of wholesale trafficking.

"The greater root of this occupation for the U.S. is Mexico and this is 1 much survey that confirms that," Brosseau said.

"It replicates what we've been saying from the get-go," helium said.

The study recovered the signifier of Mexico being an outsized root of fentanyl for the U.S. has held up successful caller years — contempt Trump's claims that the cause is "pouring in" from Canada and justifies punitive tariffs. Carney is locked successful negotiations to get Trump's fentanyl-related borderline tariffs, and the different ones, lifted by month's end.

In 2023-24, U.S. counties connected the borderline with Mexico, which marque up 2.35 per cent of the American population, accounted for astir 40 per cent of ample fentanyl seizures, researchers found.

The counties on the borderline with Canada, meanwhile, which clasp 3.1 per cent of the U.S. population, accounted for little than 2.5 per cent of ample seizures.

WATCH | U.S. drugs and guns are entering Canada:

In an interrogation with CBC News, Jonathan Caulkins, a prof astatine Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College successful Pittsburgh and a co-author of that research report, said "the worldly we prehend astatine the bluish borderline is simply a precise tiny share" of the U.S. supply.

"Does immoderate fentanyl transverse from Canada to the United States? Sure. Some magnitude of drugs crosses the borderline betwixt immoderate 2 countries successful the world. The existent question is wherever is the bulk of it coming from? And it's not from Canada," helium said.

While Trump and his officials constituent to an uptick successful fentanyl seizures astatine the bluish border, Caulkins said there's a "gigantic summation successful the percent due to the fact that it is starting from an highly debased base."

In 2023-24, for example, CBP captured little than a kilogram, earlier taking successful astir 19.5 kilograms the adjacent year. That works retired to a roughly 1,850 per cent summation — an eye-popping fig that obscures however small is truly being seized.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem raised those percent increases during a caller sojourn to Michigan, wherever she said erstwhile premier curate Justin Trudeau was a "train wreck" and Trump and his squad "are not letting down our guard."

While the trafficking figures are comparatively small, that doesn't mean Canada is simply a fentanyl-free zone, Caulkins said.

After all, much than 52,000 evident opioid toxicity deaths were reported betwixt January 2016 and December 2024 successful Canada, according to national data. In 2024, 74 per cent of those deaths progressive fentanyl.

Late past year, constabulary successful B.C. busted a alleged cause "super lab" that authorities judge was producing fentanyl for some the home and U.S. markets. Federal investigators seized 54 kilograms of fentanyl.

"For some Canada and the United States, the standard of decease is conscionable astonishing. I don't privation to marque it dependable similar the accusation of this is, 'Hey, conscionable relax," Caulkins said.

"But the question betwixt our 2 borders is truly not the important story. We are alike successful suffering from this fentanyl occupation that neither of america are causing."

Caulkins said Canada and the U.S. would beryllium good served by moving adjacent much intimately unneurotic to effort and ace down connected fentanyl, saying an antagonistic attack is counterproductive.

"If you truly attraction astir controlling your border, the astir important happening to bash is enactment successful a co-operative mode with the state that's connected the different side," helium said.

That's what Brosseau is trying to do.

Brosseau said that successful his 5 months connected the job, he's helped foster much intelligence-sharing betwixt the 2 countries, which has helped pb to much seizures here.

Just past month, Ontario Provincial Police reported caller instrumentality enforcement enactment resulted successful the seizure of immoderate 43.5 kilograms of fentanyl, equivalent to astir 435,000 perchance lethal street-level doses.

"Seemingly each week there's different important bust. I deliberation that speaks to the information that there's a greater strength to the effort," Brosseau said.

And the czar said helium speaks each moving time to the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy, which reports straight to Trump, and the Americans there have shown "deep appreciation and recognition" of Canada's efforts to get a grip connected fentanyl.

"Canada is connected it. We're doing our portion to beryllium a bully neighbour," helium said.