Security Minister says Fentanyl fatality rate higher in Canada than US

Fentanyl is killing more people per capita in Canada than in the United States, Ottawa's public safety minister said Thursday, calling the two nations "connected" in combating the opioid crisis.

US President Donald Trump has accused Canada of not doing enough to counter the flow of fentanyl across their shared border and cited the issue as justification for his threatened import tariffs.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government has committed to addressing those concerns while maintaining that less than one per cent of fentanyl in the United States comes from Canada.

"On per capita population, we're losing more Canadians than Americans are losing Americans," Public Safety Minister David McGuinty told reporters on Thursday.

"We are connected with this crisis."

According to US estimates, an average of 205 Americans have died each day of opioid overdoses in recent years, mostly from fentanyl.

Canada has seen 21 deaths per day, according to the latest data, but its population is about twelve times smaller than that of its southern neighbour.

McGuinty's remarks came after he met with senior federal police and border agency officials "to operationalize" a Can$1.3 billion (US$900 million) border security plan launched in response to Trump's tariffs threat.

The 25 per cent tariffs -- which Trump has also said were necessary to force action to stem migrant crossings -- were scheduled to take effect on Tuesday.

But the president granted Canada a 30-day reprieve to allow for further talks.

At an event on Thursday, Trudeau said "We agree wholeheartedly with our American neighbours that fentanyl must be wiped from the face of the earth."

As part of the last-minute deal to put off the tariffs, the prime minister agreed to name a point person to lead the fight against fentanyl, with details on the mandate expected to be released this week.

"The Fentanyl Czar's role will be to help us integrate what is a whole of society challenge," McGuinty said.

"Fentanyl is a foreign affairs issue, it's a law enforcement issue, it's an intelligence issue, it's a public health issue, it's a tracing issue in terms of the ingredients that end up being used in the production," he added.