Kevin Brosseau, Canada’s fentanyl czar, speaks during a news conference after the release of opioid data in Ottawa on Monday.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Canada’s fentanyl czar Kevin Brosseau is headed to Washington this week with new data he says highlight a decline in opioid-related deaths and help counter concerns the Trump administration has raised about Canada.
Mr. Brosseau, a former Mountie, announced his travel plans Monday as he participated in a Parliament Hill news conference with federal Health Minister Marjorie Michel, Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty and Dr. Joss Reimer, the Chief Public Health Officer of Canada.
The latest national data on substance-related harms found 5,608 opioid-related deaths – or an average of 15 a day – between January, 2025, and December, 2025.
That’s a 23-per-cent decrease compared to 2024, officials said.
While Mr. Brosseau acknowledged the fight against fentanyl is far from over – “That’s 15 families being devastated every day” – he said he would head south to highlight the decline with U.S. officials.
“I will be showing that Canada’s resolve to dealing with this crisis is, in fact, non-abating,” the former RCMP deputy commissioner told the news conference.
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Mr. Brosseau, who leads Canada’s actions to counter the illicit fentanyl trade, said the numbers indicate that efforts to address the supply of illegal narcotics, hold accountable those who wish to profit from death and despair, and implement significant public-health measures are having an impact.
“The message is that Canada is a trusted partner in ensuring hemispheric security,” he said.
Mr. Brosseau was appointed to his post in 2025 by then-prime-minister Justin Trudeau days after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order stating the flow of illicit drugs from Canada constituted an “unusual and extraordinary threat” that required expanded executive authority to impose tariffs.
Mr. Brosseau says he does not worry about the view that the U.S. concern about fentanyl is part of tactic to develop leverage in trade talks, placing him in the midst of that tactical approach.
He said he would leave it to others to draw their own conclusions. “I’ve said from the beginning that Canada isn’t a major source of fentanyl to the U.S. That’s been clear and I have used evidence and data as my points of argumentation versus trying to convince somebody who has a particular frame of reference.”
Regardless, he said Canada has a mix of issues around deaths and social disorder linked to fentanyl. “So clearly we have work to do, and we’ll continue to do that.”
Mr. Brosseau said his trips to the United States are a rare though important part of his job, and he has more often engaged with Americans virtually.
Asked who, exactly, he would be meeting with, he cited officials from a number of different agencies as well as the Canadian embassy, given their role as effective interlocutors with officials in various arms of the U.S. government.
And on the question of whether his efforts have cooled U.S. concerns, Mr. Brosseau said fentanyl remains a significant issue, with American law-enforcement agencies focused on the subject.
“What I have committed to and what I continue to do very regularly is ensure that information is flowing back and forth, that we understand we have a shared responsibility to address this issue because, in fact, in many cases, organized criminals and others don’t care about borders. They will ply their trade wherever a dollar is to be made.”
Mr. Brosseau has taken on a mix of duties, now serving as commissioner of the Coast Guard and a senior associate deputy minister in defence, in addition to this role as the fentanyl czar.
He said the mix of responsibilities allows him to integrate various streams of effort across the government. “I can walk and chew gum at the same time,” he said.