Trucks make their way to the Ambassador Bridge to cross into the United State, on April 1.Bill Pugliano/Getty Images
Barely more than one-tenth of 1 per cent of fentanyl seizures at the northern border have been positively attributed to Canada by the United States border agency, according to new data released to The Globe and Mail.
The figures, which were obtained through American freedom of information laws, reveal that border officials track the origin of the drugs they seize in what they call the northern border region – an area that comprises 34 states. In fiscal 2024, the data show that 99.87 per cent of the fentanyl they recovered was linked to either Mexico or the United States, or had unknown origins. Fentanyl identified as coming from Canada amounted to 0.74 pounds – or 0.13 per cent. The data exclude seizures still under investigation, including at least one case U.S. authorities have connected to Canada.
The figures call into question the Trump administration’s basis for declaring a national emergency over fentanyl “pouring” across the northern border, which unlocked special powers to unilaterally impose tariffs on Canadian goods, and whether the information was communicated to the White House. It also casts yet more doubt on the degree to which Canadian fentanyl is a culprit in the U.S. toxic drug crisis.
In justifying the tariffs, the White House has repeatedly cited U.S. Customs and Border Protection data to assert that 43 pounds of fentanyl was seized at the northern border last fiscal year, accusing Canada of being responsible for a “massive 2,050 per cent increase” compared with the year prior.
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A Globe investigation published in February determined that the agency’s criteria for attributing seizures to the northern region doesn’t hinge on whether the drugs were intercepted at the border or whether they actually came from Canada. The Globe found that at least one-third of the 43-pound tally was seized inland and had been traced by U.S. authorities to Mexican drug cartels. The northern border region comprises an area of 5.8 million square kilometres, including Alaska, representing 63 per cent of the country’s total land area.
U.S. President Donald Trump declared a national emergency on Feb. 1, stating that the flow of illicit drugs from Canada constituted an “unusual and extraordinary threat.” The executive order meant he could impose tariffs without the approval of Congress, which normally has the authority to regulate foreign commerce.
A bipartisan coalition of U.S. senators voted in favour Wednesday of ending the state of emergency, marking the most significant Republican rebuke of the president’s second term. The win is largely symbolic because the Republican-controlled House of Representatives has pledged not to intervene in Mr. Trump’s tariff agenda, and the president has veto power that can only be overridden by a two-thirds majority vote in each chamber.
Just hours before the vote, Mr. Trump signed a sweeping executive order stating that existing tariffs he imposed on Canada and Mexico because of their inability to stop the flow of fentanyl would remain in place.
Trucks coming from Mexico enter an inspection station after crossing the border in Otay Mesa, Calif., on April 1.SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images
The 43-pound figure the White House has been citing is based on border agency figures posted to a public-facing online portal. It doesn’t provide information on where the drugs originated. Seeking a definitive answer to the question of how much of the 43 pounds actually came from Canada, The Globe filed a freedom of information request asking for details related to the country of origin for each of the seizures attributed to the northern border.
What came back suggests much more fentanyl was seized in the northern border region than the 43 pounds that has consistently been cited. The total amount for fiscal 2024 is 555 pounds. Of that, Canada was determined to be the country of origin in 19 seizures, amounting to a total 0.74 pounds. The agency could not explain the discrepancy and did not provide an interview with an official who could address the issue, despite repeated requests since March 21.
The figures were released in two spreadsheets. One spreadsheet lists seizures by field officers stationed at lawful ports of entry, such as official border crossings or international shipping facilities. The other lists seizures by border agents anywhere in the northern region.
Of the 555-pound figure, Mexico was listed as the country of origin in 35 seizures for a total of 174 pounds, or 31 per cent. The United States was the country of origin in 66 seizures for a total of 156 pounds, or 28 per cent. Nearly 224 pounds of fentanyl was deemed to be of “unknown” origin, or 40 per cent. It’s possible some of the “unknown” seizures involved fentanyl with a connection to Canada.
The data released to The Globe include only closed cases, meaning they do not contain seizures of drugs that haven’t been analyzed or are subject to an active investigation. This would exclude cases such as a 5.5-pound seizure in June in Detroit, which U.S. authorities have connected to Canada but which remains under investigation. (The RCMP contends Canada was merely a waystation in that case.)
All of the fentanyl that was determined to have originated in Canada was seized by field officers at lawful ports of entry. In one case from last summer, six green fentanyl pills were recovered from a commercial air passenger. In several instances, the illicit opioid had been trafficked through the international mail system, in which case authorities could check the manifest documentation for information about the shipper.
In an e-mailed statement, White House spokesperson Kush Desai defended the emergency declaration but did not directly respond to a question about whether the administration sought clarity from the border agency on the true volume of fentanyl crossing into the U.S. from Canada. “Fentanyl seizures along our northern border – which are reflective of the much larger quantities of drugs being smuggled without detection – regardless of the country of origin only reinforce the need for stronger border security and drug enforcement,” Mr. Desai said.
The border agency did not answer questions about whether the White House had been made aware that it tracks country-of-origin information for the drugs it seizes and, specifically, the data that show Canada was responsible for 0.74 pounds last fiscal year.
Regina LaBelle, the former acting director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy under the Joe Biden administration, said in an interview that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s most recent threat assessment didn’t even mention Canada. Instead, it highlighted the role of Mexican cartels. Roughly 21,100 pounds of fentanyl was seized at the southern border with Mexico in fiscal year 2024.
Ms. LaBelle said that in her experience, policy makers look to threat assessments, as well as other sources of information and analysis from a range of government agencies, to drive their strategies. She said the fact that the Trump administration declared a state of emergency at the northern border when the DEA’s threat assessment doesn’t cite Canada as a problem is unusual and should raise questions.
“It’s not the way our drug policies are traditionally done,” she said. “Usually, they’re undertaken with a great deal of rigour, especially when it comes to those types of executive orders.”