Trump complains about Canada — but new data shows spike in U.S. drugs and guns coming north

President Donald Trump claims he's targeting Canada with punishing tariffs on all our goods because he's concerned about the country's supposedly lax approach to fentanyl and migrants.

But new data from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) shows Canada has a reason to worry about what's pouring in from the U.S.

There's been an influx of illegal American drugs and guns, which experts and law enforcement say are fuelling crime, death and addiction on this side of the border, too.

CBSA is seizing many more drugs, prohibited weapons and firearms than they were just two years ago, according to figures compiled by the border agency and shared with CBC News.

In fact, when looking at weight alone, Canadian officials seized more illegal drugs coming from the U.S. last year than what the Americans captured on their side of the 49th parallel.

"We live next door to the largest weapons market in the world, the largest drug market in the world. There are inherent — and significant — spillover effects," said Christian Leuprecht, a professor at the Royal Military College of Canada and an expert on border security.

In almost every category measured by CBSA, the number of illegal goods captured coming into this country is on the upswing.

Notably, there's been an eye-popping increase in Canada-bound drugs seized by border officials.

In 2022, for example, CBSA nabbed 3.8 million grams of drugs coming in from the U.S. — last year that figure climbed to 8.3 million grams. That's a 118 per cent increase in two years' time.

CBSA measures cannabis, hashish, cocaine and crack, heroin, some opioids (like opium, methadone and morphine) and drug-related precursor chemicals seized in grams.

A recent Toronto drug bust shows exactly what Canada is grappling with: police captured 835 kilograms of cocaine in January, product they say was likely manufactured by a Mexican cartel and then moved into Canada through the U.S.

There's also a spike in the number of drug "dosages" captured by CBSA.

In 2022, there were 112,576 dosages seized by border officials. That number more than tripled to 469,996 dosages in 2024, according to CBSA figures.

CBSA measures some opioids and other drugs and drug-related chemicals in dosages.