Every month, more than seven times as much fentanyl enters the U.S. from Mexico as comes from Canada in three years
U.S. President Donald Trump is making similar demands that Canada and Mexico beef up border security and stem the flow of illegal migrants and drugs into his country, and suggesting similar retaliation in the form of a broad 25 per cent tariff on imports if they don’t.
But numbers show that not all borders are created equal, and that Canada has little to answer for when it comes to fentanyl and migrants crossing into the United States. Here’s what to know.
How much fentanyl crosses from Canada into the U.S.?
This is a large increase over 2022 and 2023, which saw seizures of 14 pounds (6.3 kg) and 2 pounds (almost 1 kg) respectively. However, the numbers were also buoyed by two months (June and July) that saw 23 pounds (10 kg) seized.
Is that a large amount compared to Mexico?
Not at all. Those figures amount to little more than a rounding error when compared to numbers from the southern border. Fentanyl seizures there last year amounted to approximately 21,100 pounds, or 9,500 kg. In the last three years, the lowest monthly figure for fentanyl seizures at the southern border was 461 pounds, or almost seven times the amount seized at the Canadian border during the entire three-year period.
What about fentanyl from China?
U.S. coastal and interior seizures, which would presumably include China, totalled 1,583 pounds (718 kg) over the last three years — 10 times less than the supply from the southern border, yet still more than 25 times as much as was arriving from Canada.
Is there much fentanyl coming into Canada from the U.S.?
How many illegal migrants are entering the U.S. from Canada?
How does that compare to Mexico?
As with fentanyl, the numbers at the southern border are an order of magnitude larger. In 2024, there were 2.135 million land border encounters on the Mexican/U.S. border — more than 11 times the numbers for Canada. The previous two years had similar totals of 2.475 million and 2.378 million respectively. In other words, there are almost as many crossings from Mexico in a month as there are from Canada in a year.
Is anyone travelling north into Canada from the U.S.?
What has Justin Trudeau said about the numbers?
He told Jen Psaki, host of Inside with Jen Psaki and a former White House press secretary: “He has concerns about the border between Canada and the United States, particularly around migration and around fentanyl,” adding, “I was pleased to highlight that less than 1 per cent of the illegal migrants, less than 1 per cent of the fentanyl that comes into the United States comes from Canada.”
What does Mexico think of these numbers?
Canadian officials have pointed out the discrepancies between Canadian and Mexican border crossings and the drug trade, and it has not gone unnoticed in Mexico.
But at the same time, Canadians remain touchy about being lumped in with America’s southern neighbour. Ontario premier Doug Ford called it “the most insulting thing” he had heard from the U.S.
The National Post has reached out to the White House for comment and is awaiting a response.
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