The premiers of Ontario and Alberta are urging Ottawa to swiftly appoint a “fentanyl czar,” a key condition of the 30-day tariff reprieve granted by the United States.
“Americans and the Trump administration are saying, secure our border. My question again to Prime Minister Trudeau, where is the fentanyl czar?” Ontario Premier Doug Ford said during a Feb. 8 press conference in Niagara-on-the-Lake.
Ford noted that five days have passed since Canada and the United States reached a temporary truce on Feb. 3. “Time is running out,” he said. “We can’t be waiting until the last minute. Please appoint a fentanyl czar. Start showing the Americans what we are doing.”
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith backed Ford’s call, saying in a Feb. 8 social media post, “I agree with Premier Doug Ford. What’s the hold-up in Ottawa?”
Smith, who along with Ford will join a mission of premiers to Washington, D.C., on Feb. 12, urged the federal government to appoint the fentanyl czar before then to support the premiers’ mission.
“Alberta is perplexed and concerned by the delay in appointing this Fentanyl czar and calls on the federal government to do so without further delay,” she wrote in the Feb. 9 post on the platform X. She adds that, while efforts to strengthen border security and counter the fentanyl trade are underway, they will have limited impact without a federal lead to coordinate the national response.
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Public Safety Minister David McGuinty had said on Feb. 6 that the terms of reference for the fentanyl czar will be finalized by the end of the week, saying that the government will “absolutely” make the appointment within the 30-day reprieve. “We intent to be way more proactive than that,” he said during a press conference in Ottawa.
McGuinty said fentanyl is a complicated, multifaceted issue, encompassing foreign affairs, law enforcement, intelligence, public health, and the tracing of its chemical precursors. He added that the fentanyl czar’s role will focus on integrating a whole-of-society approach.
Public Safety Minister David McGuinty speaks with reporters in Ottawa on Feb 6, 2025. The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld
Ford, in addition to his request to Ottawa to fast-track appointment of the fentanyl czar, urged the federal government to introduce “strict and severe mandatory minimum sentences” for those convicted of drug trafficking.
“They need to be locked up for a long, long time,” the Ontario premier said.
He also proposed holding landlords accountable for knowingly hosting illicit drug production and trafficking sites. And he said Ontario will work with the federal government to ensure the RCMP along with regional and local law enforcement have the resources they need to combat money laundering and other financial crimes by cartels and gangs.
Ford further urged Ottawa to increase inspections of all point-of-origin containers from China at shipping yards, ports, rail yards, and airports in order to target the source of fentanyl and other illicit drugs plaguing Canadian and American communities.
U.S. President Donald Trump raised concerns about the influx of fentanyl and other deadly drugs entering the United States from Canada and Mexico, as well as chemical precursors from China, citing these issues as reasons for his tariff threats.
While Ford and the Prime Minister’s Office have highlighted that the amount of fentanyl flowing from Canada to the United States is significantly lower than that from Mexico, Trump noted in his Feb. 1 executive order imposing the tariffs that Mexican cartels are increasingly operating fentanyl labs in Canada, with the amount of fentanyl crossing into the United States from Canada being enough to potentially kill 9.5 million Americans.
Smith criticized the argument that the flow of fentanyl from Canada to the United States is just a fraction of that from Mexico, urging Canada to take the issue more seriously. In a Feb. 5 social media post, the Alberta premier said her province is looking forward to the immediate appointment of a fentanyl czar to coordinate Canada’s response, highlighting an ongoing fentanyl crisis in her own province.
Fentanyl precursors are displayed at a Reuters office in Mexico City, Mexico, on Oct. 4, 2023. Claudia Daut/File Photo/Reuters
A 25 percent tariff on all Canadian goods, except for energy products, which were to be subject to a 10 percent tariff, was initially set to take effect on Feb. 4. However, it was put on hold after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reached an agreement with Trump the day prior.
As part of the deal, Canada agreed to a number of new commitments that included appointing a fentanyl czar, designating drug cartels as terrorist organizations, and launching a U.S.-Canada joint strike force to combat organized crime, fentanyl, and money laundering. The federal government also committed $200 million toward intelligence operations to combat organized crime and fentanyl.
In a Feb. 3 social media post, Trudeau said these new measures were in addition to implementation of Canada’s $1.3 billion border plan announced in December 2024, which included reinforcing the border with personnel as well as helicopters, drones, and other technology; enhancing operational coordination with U.S. officials; and increasing resources to stop the flow of fentanyl.
On Feb. 3, the same day that Trump paused the tariff on Canada, he also suspended a similar 25 percent tariff on Mexico after President Claudia Sheinbaum agreed to reinforce security at its northern border with the United States by deploying 10,000 National Guard members there to address fentanyl trafficking.
Meanwhile, effective Feb. 4, Trump implemented a 10 percent tariff on all goods imported from China. The new tariff on that country is in addition to previously imposed tariffs, which ranged from 10 percent to 25 percent for various goods. In response, Beijing announced plans to impose 10 to 15 percent tariffs on energy imports and other products imported from the United States, including coal and liquefied natural gas products, crude oil, agricultural machinery, and large-engine cars.
