CBSA reports dramatic increase in U.S.-linked drug, weapon seizures

Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officials say seizures of fentanyl, cocaine, meth and firearms from the U.S. have surged, with fentanyl confiscations alone rising more than 1,600 per cent in recent years.

The agency tells CHCH News that the amount of cocaine seized coming from the U.S. has increased by almost 294 per cent and methamphetamine by 205 per cent in the last five years.

So far this year, the CBSA says they seized over 30,000 kg of illegal drugs — 5,000 kg more than last year.

The border services agency says around five per cent of all fentanyl seized came from the U.S., with the rest attempting to be exported out of Canada. This is down compared to recent years.

After Donald Trump’s 2024 U.S. election victory, the White House raised concerns over the southbound flow of fentanyl and irregular migrants into the United States, using these issues to justify tariffs on Canada.

“Canada is not a significant source of fentanyl entering the U.S.,” the CBSA writes in a statement to CHCH News. “While a very small percentage of the fentanyl intercepted at the U.S. border comes from Canada, any amount of fentanyl is too much.”

The border services agency says most of the firearms it seizes originate in the U.S. — 73 per cent of firearms seized between 2020 and 2024 originated from south of the border.

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The CBSA says 780 firearms were seized in total this year, 88 per cent of which originated in the U.S.

However, only 10 per cent of prohibited weapons originated in the U.S., with most coming from other countries.

The CBSA says they were especially concerned with “ensuring the integrity of the immigration system.”

Through this, CBSA officers removed nearly 19,000 foreign nationals from the country, whom they say were violating the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. Of the 19,000, 841 were deemed to be seriously inadmissible.

Officers identified 35,608 foreign nationals looking to enter the country along the land-border with the U.S., the agency says all of these people subsequently withdrew their request to enter Canada.

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