When Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke to U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday afternoon, he had a new proposition: creating a “fentanyl czar.”
The role — part of an updated pitch aimed at curbing the illegal flow of the deadly drug — seemed to appease Trump, with the U.S. agreeing to postpone what was shaping up to be a full-blown trade war for at least a month.
Who will take on the role and what the job will actually look like is still being determined, said Public Safety Minister David McGuinty.
But the minister offered clear marching orders for whoever answers the call: rid Canada of illegal fentanyl.
Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid sometimes prescribed for pain, but it is also made illegally. According to Health Canada documents, organized crime groups have shifted their efforts away from importing fentanyl and are now producing it primarily on Canadian soil.
The federal government estimates that more than 49,000 Canadians died due to opioid drug overdoses between 2016 and June 2024. Of all accidental apparent opioid toxicity deaths during the first half of 2024, 79 per cent involved fentanyl.
McGuinty said whoever takes the job will be a co-ordinating player between police, the attorney general and Health Canada’s precursor chemical detection labs.
“That fentanyl czar role will be involved in having to pull all of this together so we can get over any hurdles and execute on a plan that involves minimizing if not eliminating fentanyl from Canadian soil,” he said after touring a fentanyl detection lab near Emerson, Man.
Canada pitched fentanyl czar: source
According to a senior government source, the post was put on the table by the Canadians.
The source, who was not authorized to speak on the record, said the government is looking for a serving or former police officer for the role — and to fill it as soon as possible.
The source was clear the government is still working out the terms of what it will look like. The aim, they said, is to have better information-sharing with the U.S.
In a statement on social media, Trudeau said he assured Trump that Canada was moving ahead with its previously announced $1.3-billion border security plan that includes reinforcing the nearly 9,000-kilometre border with new helicopters, technology and personnel.
Public Safety Minister David McGuinty tells Power & Politics the government is ‘pleased’ U.S. President Donald Trump has agreed to pause threatened tariffs on Canadian goods but ‘we have more work to do’ to keep them off.
Canada had also previously announced plans to launch a joint strike force between the two countries to “combat organized crime, fentanyl and money laundering.”
There are 10,000 front-line personnel who “are and will be” working on protecting the border, he said, matching the number of troops Mexico has promised to send to bolster its border with the U.S.
Trudeau did commit to three new measures on the call: the czar role, a promise to list Mexican cartels as terrorists under Canadian law and a new $200-million intelligence directive on organized crime and fentanyl.
The details of that directive are also vague.
Alberta premier wanted a general
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith had been publicly pitching the federal government to appoint a retired military general as “border czar” to work with Trump appointee Tom Homan.
In an interview with CBC’s Power & Politics, the premier said she was glad to see news of a fentanyl point person.
“We have one prime minister who is not going to be there in 33 days and then a new prime minister who might only be there for another 33 days and then a new prime minister after that,” she said, referring to the upcoming Liberal leadership vote and the election that is expected to soon follow.
“We need to have a consistent voice through this period to demonstrate that we’re making real progress on it.”
During a news conference before the tariffs were paused, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre called on the government to send Canadian soldiers to the border.
A spokesperson for Defence Minister Bill Blair said Tuesday that Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members will not be deployed to the border, but added the military has received a request to help support the RCMP’s efforts.
The spokesperson, Andrew Green, said the CAF is providing planning, liaison, logistics and communications to the RCMP’s national border task force and sending 70 drones over the coming weeks “as capacity allows.”