Canada's fentanyl czar sees 'very positive' reaction in Washington meetings

Canadian fentanyl czar Kevin Brosseau says American officials are showing their approval for his new role as he and several other top officials are in Washington to show Canada's successes at stopping the flow of drugs and migrants.

In an interview with CBC's The House on Wednesday, Brosseau said his role makes him a central contact for U.S. officials to discuss their concerns with fentanyl flowing across the Canada-U.S. border.

"They have that clear understanding with me being here," Brosseau told host Catherine Cullen. "So it's resonated really well. I'd say the reaction has been very positive."

Brosseau is with Public Safety Minister David McGuinty, Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) president Erin O'Gorman and RCMP Commissioner Michael Duheme to make Canada's case to U.S. officials.

The fentanyl czar said his job in Washington is to "ensure there were no gaps in information" about what Canada has been doing to curb the flow of fentanyl into the United States — one of President Donald Trump's stated reasons behind imposing tariffs on Canadian goods.

On Thursday, Trump said in a social media post he'll end a month-long pause and slap a 25 per cent tariff on most Canadian goods as of March 4. He claimed he needs to take action because "drugs are still pouring into our country" despite evidence to the contrary.

Data from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released this month shows there has been a 97 per cent drop in fentanyl seizures in January compared to December 2024, which the Canadian government says demonstrates its border security efforts are bearing fruit.

Even before these new efforts, Canada represented less than one per cent of all seized fentanyl imports into the U.S., according to federal data.

McGuinty said Thursday that Canada has acted on U.S. concerns about border security and fentanyl trafficking, even as Trump continues to insist economy-wide tariffs will go ahead.

"Any test that was put on this country, on Canada, in terms of showing progress and meeting standards for the border — I believe those have been met," McGuinty said outside the White House. 

Brosseau said he wants to hear from U.S. officials about "what works and what isn't working."

"What advice would they give me?" Brosseau said. "I'm new to the job, I've been in the job for a couple of weeks. If they were me, what would they do?"

After meeting with Brosseau, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar said on Wednesday she was "really impressed" to hear from him and learn more about what Canada is doing to tackle the fentanyl issue.

When asked if the Canadian government is doing enough to meet Trump's bar, Klobuchar, a Democrat, said she can't predict everything Trump is going to do, "but what I can say is that it's enough to meet my bar."