A closer look at Canadian efforts to address U.S. concerns about border security

OTTAWA — The United States imposed sweeping tariffs Tuesday on Canadian products, claiming Canada has failed to adequately address the southbound flow of contraband drugs like fentanyl.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau dismissed the U.S. rationale as “completely bogus, completely unjustified, completely false.”

“Our border is already safe and secure,” Trudeau told a news conference Tuesday.

He said Canada accounts for well under one per cent of fentanyl seized at the northern border and less than one per cent of illegal crossings into the United States.

“But we acted because we know we can always do better,” he said.

The federal government announced a $1.3-billion plan in December to improve security and monitoring at the border. The government earmarked another $200 million last month to target organized crime.

Here’s a look at what Canada says it is doing:

Listing cartels as terrorist entities: Seven cartels accused of involvement in fentanyl trafficking were listed as terrorist entities under the Criminal Code, making it easier for police to dismantle and disrupt the organizations. The government says the listings have already resulted in seizures, detentions, arrests and charges against suspected cartel members.

Appointment of a fentanyl czar: Kevin Brosseau, a former senior Mountie, was named to the new position and tasked with working closely with U.S. counterparts and law enforcement agencies on tackling fentanyl.

Round-the-clock border surveillance: Canada boosted the number of border personnel (including border officers, RCMP and other police) to 10,000 officers.

It introduced other new measures at the land border, including 15 surveillance towers with high-resolution cameras, 100 handheld chemical analysis detention instruments, nine detector dog teams that specialize in fentanyl, 50 ion scanners and 30 imaging technology tools.

In the air, Canada deployed new drones, four Black Hawk helicopters and a specialized plane for aerial surveillance, which collectively deploy infrared, heat-seeking and other advanced detection capabilities.

The government introduced air surveillance to support patrols by RCMP and border agency marine units, as well as Shiprider units that allow U.S. and Canadian officers to patrol jointly across the border.

The Canadian Space Agency is also capturing satellite imagery of the entire Canada-U.S. land border, with the exception of Alaska.

Law enforcement operations against fentanyl: A recent RCMP effort targeting the deadly opioid resulted in 524 arrests and seizure of large quantities of drugs. Operation Blizzard, launched by the Canada Border Services Agency, prevented fentanyl and illegal precursor chemicals from entering and leaving the country.

Information and intelligence sharing: Canada launched a financial intelligence sharing partnership with law enforcement and the country’s six largest banks to tackle money laundering linked to illegal fentanyl trafficking.

Joint Operational and Intelligence Cell: Agencies created a unit to act on critical intelligence regarding illegal fentanyl trafficking and transnational organized crime.

Engage with source countries on precursors, fentanyl: A recent Canada delegation to China led to a commitment from Beijing to schedule two outstanding precursor chemicals subject to international control, and opened the door to Canada sharing a list of Chinese companies exporting precursors of concern.

The two countries also agreed to renew an understanding on law enforcement co-operation to foster information and intelligence sharing on transnational organized crime, and to reactivate a working group on co-operation against narcotics.

Southbound migration: Canada cites a 90 per cent reduction in illegal border crossings from Canada to the U.S. since June 2024. The government also says it has tightened visa requirements, significantly increased investigations of visa fraud and increased removals of failed asylum claimants.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 4, 2025.

Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press