Trump criticizes Canada over drugs but leaves it off list of drug-producing countries

WASHINGTON – U.S. President Donald Trump is again accusing Canada of not doing enough to clamp down on drugs — but did not include it in a list of major drug-producing countries released Wednesday.

“After four years of open border chaos, seizures of fentanyl and other drugs being smuggled into the United States have been reduced by more than half, and drug overdose deaths have plunged,” Trump said in a declaration submitted to Congress. “My Administration has saved tens of thousands of American lives from this scourge.” 

Every year, under U.S. law, the president must identify countries that have failed to meet their obligations under international counternarcotics agreements during the previous 12 months.

The new list cites Afghanistan, the Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Panama, Peru and Venezuela.

Trump recognized the efforts of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration to stop the flow of drugs and shut down labs but said Mexico and Canada still need to do more.

“Fentanyl continues to be illicitly produced in clandestine Canadian labs, and precursor chemicals and synthetic drugs continue to enter the United States through Canada,” Trump said.

“Canada needs to take meaningful action to dismantle drug labs, strengthen supply chain security, and degrade criminal networks and Chinese gangs operating along our northern border.”

U.S. government data shows a minuscule volume of drugs is seized at the northern border compared to the boundary with Mexico.

The RCMP has said that while fentanyl is an issue for Canadians, it’s largely a domestic supply problem and there is limited evidence to suggest Canadian fentanyl poses an increasing threat to the United States.

Trump used the International Economic Emergency Powers Act, also called IEEPA, to declare an emergency over fentanyl trafficking in order to hit Canada with tariffs last year.

Canada took swift action in response, introducing a billion-dollar border plan and appointing a “fentanyl czar.” Ottawa announced a Canada-U.S. Joint Strike Force and deployed additional helicopters and drones along the border.

But members of the Trump administration continued to complain about Canadian efforts, pointing out that Mounties dismantled a sophisticated drug lab in British Columbia in 2024 and claiming that Mexican cartels were establishing themselves in Canada.

The fentanyl tariffs ultimately were dropped when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that Trump’s use of IEEPA for the duties was illegal.

Trump has since replaced those tariffs with a 10 per cent duty citing forced labour in supply chains. Those do not apply to goods compliant under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade.

Canada is also being slammed by Trump’s separate sectoral tariffs — hitting industries like steel, aluminum, automobiles and cabinetry — as well as 50 per cent duties on an array of goods that were put in place after trade talks fell apart last month.

Members of the Trump administration have spoken much less about the drug threat at the northern border since Trump’s tariff tool was taken away by the Supreme Court.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin met with Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree in Washington in June.

During a fireside chat in Washington that month, the two officials spoke about successful collaboration at the border. Mullin said the “fracturing” relationship between Canada and the United States needs to be restored to ensure security in both countries.

In July, Canada Border Services Agency officers at the Coutts port of entry in southern Alberta stopped two commercial trucks arriving from the United States carrying a massive amount of cocaine.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2026.

— With files from The Associated Press