What is a ‘fentanyl czar,’ and other details of Canada’s border measure changes

Minister of Public Safety David McGuinty speaks to reporters prior to a meeting during a cabinet retreat at Chateau Montebello in Montebello, Que., on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Canada’s new “fentanyl czar” will work with Canadian and U.S. officials to help halt the flow of illegal drugs across the northern border, Public Safety Minister David McGuinty says.

Shedding some new light on what exactly Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s newly-promised drug czar will do, McGuinty said the title was “chosen carefully” in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s focus on fentanyl crossing the border.

He said the yet-to-be-named official “will serve as the main interlocutor between the Canadian and U.S. governments, and will enhance our collaboration in combating fentanyl.”

Speaking in Emerson, Man., the minister also offered new details on some of the other measures Trudeau committed to on Monday in his last-minute deal with Trump to avoid 25 per cent import tariffs for at least 30 days.

In addition to implementing the $1.3 billion border plan – which includes deploying more personnel and 60 new drones, surveillance equipment and a handful of helicopters – Canada is making new commitments, following Mexico in securing a border-action-related tariff reprieve.

Trudeau promised Canada will be listing cartels as terrorists, for example, something McGuinty said will be done under the Criminal Code, and “will support our criminal investigations and strengthen the RCMP’s ability to prevent and disrupt the activities of cartels.”

“It also allows us to more immediately follow the money,” McGuinty said.

The federal government is also pouring $200 million into a new intelligence directive on organized crime and fentanyl, and will follow through on a previous commitment to launch a cross-border “strike force” that will be focused on combatting organized crime, fentanyl and money laundering.

“It will include 10 teams of law enforcement, border security, and intel professionals across Canada and the United States,” McGuinty said.

McGuinty was at one of the busiest ports and key trade corridors on Tuesday to attend a border security exercise.

The demonstration included showcasing the Blackhawk helicopters that will monitor from the skies, as well as the indoor examination area at the port of entry where fentanyl and other toxic substances are detected and interdicted.

‘What’s our objective? Stop the tariffs’

While there, the minister acknowledged that despite the temporary delay from Trump’s tariffs and Trudeau’s resulting countermeasures, Canada has more work to do.

“What was our objective yesterday? Stop the tariffs. What’s our objective today? Stop the tariffs. What’s our objective tomorrow? Stop the tariffs,” McGunity said to a room of Canada Border Services Agency officers and members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

“We’re going to do what we have to do in order to strengthen this border with your help because there’s so much on the line for everyday Canadians.”

The public safety minister said his cabinet colleagues will speak with their American counterparts about implementing the plan during upcoming trips to D.C. He noted that drugs also come into Canada from the American side of the border.

“We have challenges with drugs coming from the United States. Large volumes of narcotics, 1,000 kilograms of cocaine seized in the last several months… We’ll work together on making sure that that’s also dealt with,” McGuinty said.

In the last year of tracking, U.S. border agents seized less then 20 kilograms of fentanyl at the Canada-U.S. border. Compare that to 95 hundred kilograms seized at the border with Mexico.

Still, Peter Navarro, a senior trade adviser to President Trump claimed Tuesday that “Mexican drug cartels are rapidly expanding in Canada,” an indication federal officials have a ways to go convince the U.S. administration that the actions being taken are enough.

“Ultimately, what we know is the only ones that will be able to convince President Trump are Americans themselves. So we need to continue the pressure,” said Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly at an event in Montreal on Tuesday. “We’re in implementation mode.”

Some pieces of the border plan – first announced in December – require legislative approval. Opposition parties are redoubling their efforts to push the government to recall Parliament.

When Trudeau prorogued, it threw into question how much, if any of the $1.3 billion could flow without MPs’ approval. In a statement to CTV News at the time, McGuinty’s office said the plan included “a series of measures which do not require parliamentary approval.”

With files from CTV News' Mike Le Couteur