Former senior Mountie Kevin Brosseau appointed as Canada's fentanyl czar

The federal government appointed former Mountie Kevin Brosseau as Canada's new "fentanyl czar" on Tuesday — a role created in part to soothe U.S. President Donald Trump's concerns about the northern border and pause a developing trade war.

As the government's point-person on the file, Brosseau is being asked to work closely with U.S. counterparts and law enforcement agencies to "accelerate Canada's ongoing work to detect, disrupt and dismantle the fentanyl trade," said a statement from the Prime Minister's Office.

"The scourge of fentanyl must be wiped from the face of the Earth, its production must be shut down and its profiteers must be punished," said the statement. 

Brosseau served in the RCMP for over 20 years, including as deputy commissioner and as commanding officer in Manitoba from 2012-16. He also recently served as deputy national security and intelligence adviser to Trudeau where, according to PMO, he "navigated Canada's most sensitive security challenges."

Educated at the University of Alberta, Brosseau also received a graduate degree from Harvard in corporate and Indigenous law.

"His demonstrated expertise tackling drug trafficking, organized crime networks and other national security threats will bring tremendous value to this position," said the government release.

Public Safety Minister David McGuinty said as czar, Brosseau will co-ordinate between agencies and work with all levels of government and their American counterparts.

Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid sometimes prescribed for pain, but it is also made illegally. Trump has repeatedly raised the drug coming into the U.S. as justification for tariffs.

Figures from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) show the agency seized 19.5 kilograms of fentanyl at the northern border last year, compared to 9,570 kilograms at the southwestern one. 

That hasn't stopped Trump from demanding Canada take a tougher line against the drug the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said killed more than 74,000 Americans in 2023.

"While less than one per cent of the fentanyl intercepted at the U.S. border comes from Canada, any amount of fentanyl is too much," said the Canadian government in its Tuesday release. 

Position was pitched to Trump on phone call 

The drug has also had deadly consequences in Canada. The federal government estimates that more than 49,000 Canadians died due to opioid drug overdoses between 2016 and June 2024. Of all accidental apparent opioid toxicity deaths during the first half of 2024, 79 per cent involved fentanyl. 

The position was pitched to Trump earlier this month, hours before he was set to impose 25 per cent tariffs on most Canadian goods.

During a high-stakes phone call, Trudeau told Trump that Canada is pressing ahead with a previously announced $1.3-billion border security plan that includes reinforcing the border with new choppers, technology and personnel and stepping up its co-ordination with American officials to crack down on Trump's stated priorities: illegal drugs and migrants.

Trump issued another executive order delaying the broad tariffs until March 4. 

The president has since threatened to impose 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports, including from its biggest supplier, Canada, effective March 12.