Amid claims by U.S. President Donald Trump of “massive” amounts of fentanyl coming from Canada, the country is notably absent from a report on America’s biggest threats.
The report, released this month, said fentanyl is one of the most lethal drugs trafficked into the U.S. and the cartels that traffic the drug are “largely responsible” for more than 52,000 deaths in the country from synthetic opioids.
It goes on to note that Mexico-based transnational criminal organizations, such as the Sinaloa Cartel, are the dominant producers and suppliers of illicit drugs, while China remains the primary source country for the chemicals to make fentanyl and pill-pressing equipment, followed by India.
The statements, however, appear to contradict Trump’s own statements about fentanyl that he’s used as justification for imposing tariffs on Canada.
Democratic Sen. Martin Heinrich took note and questioned Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on Tuesday as to why Canada wasn’t included.
“I was surprised, given some of the rhetoric, that there is no mention of Canada in the ATA,” Heinrich said. “The president has stated that the fentanyl coming through Canada is massive, and actually said it was an ‘unusual and extraordinary threat,’ and that was the language that was used to justify putting tariffs on Canada.
“I’m just trying to reconcile those two issues. Is it an ‘unusual and extraordinary threat,’ or is it a minor threat that doesn’t even merit mention in the Annual Threat Assessment?”
Gabbard responded that her focus was on the “most extreme threats in that area,” and the assessment concluded the most extreme threat continued “to come from and through Mexico.”
She added she did not have the numbers related to Canada when she was questioned, though Heinrich noted it’s “less than one per cent of the fentanyl that we’re able to interdict,” though he added he would welcome additional information.
Global News reached out to Gabbard’s office to inquire about why Canada was not included in the report, despite Trump’s statements, but a spokesperson said it had “nothing to share beyond the ATA (Annual Threat Assessment).”
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Max Cameron, political science professor at the University of British Columbia, says that omission and Gabbard noting her focus on extreme threats could benefit the federal government in negotiations to avoid further tariffs.
“We are not a major threat to the United States, so I think that that’s a message that has to be made consistently,” Cameron said.
“It has to come from all levels of government, federal, provincial and municipal, everyone talking to Americans, everyone going to the United States trying to influence the U.S. government needs to say over and over again, we’re not a major source of fentanyl, we’re not a major supplier.
“It’s purely a justification for policies that are being implemented for other reasons. Let’s understand those other reasons and let’s get back to working out some kind of relationship.”
Early in his presidency, Trump threatened to impose widespread tariffs of 25 per cent on Canada to push the country to crack down on fentanyl.
Canada has taken actions in response, including appointing a fentanyl czar, listing various cartels as terrorists and launching a joint strike force with the U.S. to combat organized crime, fentanyl and money laundering.
Trump paused his widespread tariffs that were to come in February for a month after former prime minister Justin Trudeau agreed to those conditions, only to put them into effect at the start of March along with subsequent steel and aluminum tariffs, and now promised auto and “reciprocal” tariffs set to hit on April 2.
But while the U.S. has acknowledged a decrease in illegal border crossings, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on CNN early this month that fentanyl deaths were down less than 15 per cent and the drop “wasn’t enough.”
Trudeau, on the other hand, said fentanyl seizures from Canada decreased by 97 per cent between December 2024 and January 2025.
Canada’s Privy Council Office, in a statement to Global News, said it had no knowledge of the report or its contents but was made aware once it was released.
“Although less than 0.1 per cent of fentanyl seized by U.S. authorities was at the Canada-U.S. border, the Government of Canada is continuing its work to go after the production, distribution and trafficking of fentanyl,” a spokesperson wrote.
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s own data, 43 pounds of fentanyl was seized in all of 2024 — though that still marks an increase from the two pounds seized the year before.
FBI Director Kash Patel on Wednesday cautioned during a Senate hearing that encounters with what he called known or suspected terrorists at the Canada-U.S. border has increased compared with the Mexican border.
According to Customs and Border Protection data, there were 29 terrorism-related encounters by the Office of Field Operations at land border ports of entry at the southern border. At the northern border with Canada, that number was 143.
The agency notes, however, that these encounters involved people with terrorism-related records at the time of their encounter at ports of entry, and may include multiple encounters of the same individual.
“What it tells me is that known or suspected terrorists, the individuals who want to do the most harm to this country are utilizing the northern border and we’ve got to refocus assets up there,” Patel said.
The data also shows that U.S. Border Patrol encountered 13 non-U.S. citizens with terrorism-related records between ports of entry at the southern border and zero at its northern entry.
Despite this data provided, Canada was also not mentioned in the threat assessment with regard to terrorism groups and activities. It instead pointed out work by groups like the Islamic State that use online outreach and propaganda to direct, enable and inspire attacks.
— with files from Global News’ Sean Boynton
