Canada feels Trump’s fury over drugs, migrants and promises tighter border

Trucks head to the US at the border in St-Bernard-de-Lacolle, Quebec. (Christinne Muschi/Bloomberg)

President-elect Donald Trump has threatened 25 percent tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico until fentanyl and undocumented migrants stop crossing US borders. Canada says it has a plan to boost border security — and points to U.S. government data showing most of the problems come from Mexico.

Agents seized an average of 1,810 pounds of fentanyl per month at the U.S.-Mexico border from January 2022 to October 2024, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection statistics. An average of £1.8 per month was seized at the northern border during the same period.

However, Canadian government officials were quick to insist that they are working closely with the US to combat the fentanyl “flag”.

The synthetic opioid is such a powerful drug — about 50 times stronger than heroin — that just a few grains can be deadly. And precursor chemicals, which are often legal, are also a frequently cited problem by officials.

Last month, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said they had destroyed the country’s largest-ever “super lab” in the west coast province of British Columbia. The lab contained fentanyl and precursors in quantities large enough to produce tens of millions of potentially lethal doses, police said. They also arrested a group with alleged ties to Mexican drug cartels.

The Canadian government said criminal investigations and intelligence identified China as the main source of fentanyl and its analogues entering the country.

U.S. and Canadian authorities are sharing information in the fight against fentanyl, Dominic LeBlanc, Canada’s border control minister, said Tuesday. “This work is done literally every day between law enforcement in Canada and the United States.”

The government has been talking to Canada’s police and border agency about “acquiring new technology, drones, helicopters, additional human resources needed,” LeBlanc said.

Port problems

Transnational organized crime is active in British Columbia ports, and Canada is “clearly a source and a transshipment stop for large quantities of drugs,” Peter German, a former assistant commissioner of the RCMP, said in a report commissioned by the City of Delta , Great Britain. Columbia, which borders the state of Washington.

“At the moment our ports are well protected – we have electronic fences and security guards to keep people out. But the concern is what is happening inside the port in terms of allegations of organized crime,” German said in an interview. “We wonder why Canada stopped having a harbor police force in 1996.”

“There’s no doubt” that the U.S. is seeing a lot more drug trafficking, illegal immigration and human trafficking at the Mexican crossing, German said. “It’s a huge problem on the southern border. I guess the northern border pales in comparison, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a problem,” he said.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection data show that the number of migrants trying to enter the U.S. from Canada without authorization is about one-tenth of those trying to enter from Mexico.

Encounters at the northern land border totaled nearly 199,000 in the 12 months ended Sept. 30, compared with more than 2.1 million at the southern border. These figures include people trying to pass through regular border entry points but who do not have the necessary documents or are deemed inadmissible for other reasons.

The number of people encountered by the US Border Patrol trying to sneak into the US from Canada outside regular ports of entry was 24,000, compared to 1.5 million at the southern border. That’s according to US Border Agency statistics for the same 12-month period.

“It’s the annual equivalent of a significant weekend at the Mexican border,” Immigration Minister Marc Miller said. However, Canada is taking the issue seriously because “we have a job and it’s not like our problems are Americans’ problems.”

“We need to secure the borders to remove this argument from Mr. Trump,” Quebec Premier Francois Legault said.

From Mexico’s perspective, it has worked to stem the tide of illegal migrants. Acting at the behest of the US, he restricted transit routes and rounded up migrants who had gathered near the border, sending them to the south of the country. Asylum restrictions imposed by the Biden administration earlier this year have also reduced crossings to the US.

In Canada, Miller recently announced a tightening of the immigration system after the number of temporary residents – including foreign students – rose to record levels. A man on a Canadian student visa allegedly planned to kill Jews in New York on October 7 this year, while a Minnesota jury found two men guilty in connection with a people-smuggling scheme that brought people to Canada, then sent them on foot across the US Border – where an Indian family froze to death.

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, who will win Canada’s next election in 2025, said visas for 4.9 million temporary residents will expire next year. The government has not made clear how it will enforce the departures of those who are not allowed to stay, he said.

With help from Brian Platt, Danielle Balbi, Derek Decloet, Laura Dhillon Kane and Mathieu Dion.