Canada stepped up efforts to deal with illicit drug production in 2025 — here’s what an expert wants next

Canadian officials made pains to show they were cracking down on illicit drug production in the country in 2025.

Much of that was driven by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff war — which was justified, in part, by Trump’s assertions that Canada wasn’t doing enough to stop the illicit opioid fentanyl from flowing south of the border.

A “fentanyl czar” was appointed to co-ordinate agencies’ response to drug enforcement. 

Drug seizures were regularly trumpeted, and the Liberal government’s border security bill includes provisions about cracking down on drug precursor chemicals and more surveillance powers for police.

A criminologist says the appointment of the fentanyl czar, in particular, shows an acknowledgement of the transnational nature of drug production in Canada.

“There are a lot of connections in Canada that were pointed out by Mr. [Kevin] Brosseau, the fentanyl czar, between Southeast Asia, China and Canada,” said Neil Boyd, a professor emeritus at Simon Fraser University’s criminology school.

“Organized crime groups in all of these countries work together, and precursor chemicals come in regularly to Canada.”

Boyd said that Trump’s claims around fentanyl flowing south of the border in significant numbers aren’t rooted in fact — but have allowed for a focus on cartels and transnational organizations that are contributing to domestic drug production.

“I think one of the benefits of Trump's claims … is that it has allowed for more insight into what some of the real problems are,” Boyd said.

Brosseau said in a statement to CBC News that, going into 2026, officials would push forward with a mission of reducing drug supply, curbing demand and securing borders.

"We are starting to see demonstrable, measurable improvements through our strategic and [co– ordinated] efforts, with a suite of complementary measures coming together," he said.

During a recent media availability announcing a massive fentanyl seizure, intelligence officials said they believe that Canada isn’t a major exporter of the drug.

Rather, they say that Canada has a “domestic issue” with the opioid, which has been blamed for a majority of deaths from toxic drugs in B.C.

Boyd says that whether Canada is an exporter of drugs largely depends on the drug in question, and that methamphetamine remains one that is exported in large quantities.