DEA assessment fingers Canada as major fentanyl source as guns flow freely across Northern border

Blame Canada.

In its latest National Drug Threat Assessment, the US Drug Enforcement Agency is blaming Canada for a blizzard of illicit fentanyl from so-called ‘super labs’ located on this side of the border.

In its latest assesment, Canada was mentioned seven times as a source of drugs and precursor chemicals despite the DEA not mentioning Canada once in its 2024 report.

According to the DEA’s newly released 2025 Drug Threat Assessment, 22.7 kilograms of fentanyl were seized at the US-Canada border in 2024. In stark contrast, 9,354 kilograms were intercepted at the southern border with Mexico — over 400 times more.

In a bid to avert the tariffs and calm growing tensions, the Canadian government appointed a national “drug czar” in February — a new high-level role focused on coordinating anti-trafficking efforts and working with U.S. counterparts on cross-border drug enforcement.

Ottawa also increased funding for border enforcement, ramping up inspections, deploying more canine units, and enhancing chemical detection capabilities at major ports of entry.

Those steps, however, were dismissed by the Trump administration as insufficient. The White House moved ahead with tariffs anyway, branding Canada a “fentanyl threat” and declaring a national emergency at the northern border in March. 

Even the DEA report itself downplays Canada’s role, noting only that while “sophisticated fentanyl super laboratories” do exist in Canada, their output is substantially lower than that of Mexico. 

The concern, it adds, lies in their potential to expand to “fill the gap” from busted Mexican labs, not their current impact. No other references to Canada appear in the 150-page assessment.

In reality, cross-border trafficking is a two-way street and Canada often finds itself on the receiving end. While US officials sound alarms about Canadian fentanyl, Canadian law enforcement continues to grapple with illegal firearms smuggled north from the United States. 

The Criminal Intelligence Service of Canada reported in 2023 that more than 50% of illicit handguns seized in recent years originated in the US and were involved in up to 90% of all the gun crimes in cities like Toronto.

Canada has seen a rise in gun-related violence, with police and policymakers linking it to American weapons fueling domestic crime. Meanwhile, US-sourced drugs — including methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl — remain a persistent threat within Canadian borders.

“We see far more illegal drugs coming from the US into Canada than the other way around,” said a senior RCMP officer, speaking on condition of anonymity.

While Trump claims to be defending American lives, his administration has shown far less urgency in addressing US gun exports, even as countries like Mexico sue US gun manufacturers for USD$10 billion over weapons smuggled into the country and used by violent cartels.

Mexico’s case, which was heard by a skeptical US Supreme Court, argues that lax American regulations have allowed companies to “knowingly” arm criminal organizations.

Canada, which has not yet responded with retaliatory measures, has so far tread carefully amid a volatile trade environment. The latest friction marks a worrying shift in Canada-US relations, threatening to undermine trade stability, public health cooperation, and shared border security.

With Trump eager to appear tough on crime and trade, experts fear Canada will remain a convenient — if baseless — target.