US Drug Enforcement Concerned About Canada’s Fentanyl ‘Super Laboratories’

A DEA logo at the Office of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on May 29, 2019 in New York City. JOHANNES EISELE/AFP via Getty Images

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is highly focused on Mexican cartels in its latest national threat assessment, but it also raises concerns about Canada, citing the presence of large-scale, sophisticated fentanyl laboratories in the country.

The DEA released on May 13 its National Drug Threat Assessment for the year 2025, which identifies the key Mexican cartels and their operations, and provides an overview of the trends involving the different types of narcotics found in the United States.

In the section on fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid responsible for a large number of overdose deaths in the United States and Canada, the DEA says Mexican transnational criminal organizations have “cemented” their role in supplying the drug.

The agency says cartels are capitalizing on the ease of production of synthetic drugs, with precursors coming mostly from China and India, and rely on a “complex and robust” network to smuggle all types of narcotics into the United States.

The DEA mentions Canada as a source of fentanyl production, and as a destination point for shipments of precursor chemicals. The assessment also cited the agency’s “growing concern” over large-scale “super laboratories” operating in Canada.

“In addition to the synthetic drug threat from Mexico, elevated synthetic drug production in Canada—particularly from sophisticated fentanyl ’super laboratories” such as the type seized by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in October 2024—presents a growing concern for the United States,” says the report.

The RCMP said last October that it had taken down the “largest, most sophisticated drug superlab in Canada.” The combined fentanyl and precursors seized could have amounted to 95 million doses, the police force said. Other drugs were also seized, such as 35 kilograms of cocaine and 390 kilograms of methamphetamine, along with 89 firearms.

There are limited mentions of Canada in the DEA report compared to Mexico, and it notes that estimated amounts of fentanyl coming from the north are “substantially lower” than from the south. The DEA says that as of spring 2025, 22.7 kilograms of fentanyl sourced back to Canada were seized at the border in 2024. In comparison, 9,354 kilograms were seized at the border with Mexico.

“Nevertheless, these operations have the potential to expand and fill any supply void created by disruptions to Mexico-sourced fentanyl production and trafficking,” says the DEA.

Canadian federal departments have been sending mixed messages on the impact of domestic production of illicit fentanyl.

In a June 2024 briefing note for the deputy minister of foreign affairs, Global Affairs Canada wrote that seizures of Canada-sourced fentanyl in places like the United States and Australia “suggest that domestic production is likely exceeding domestic demand, and that Canada is now a source (and transit) country for fentanyl to some markets.”

A question period note for the public safety minister produced by his department said in October 2024 that “despite evidence of domestic production occurring in Canada, there is little to no evidence from either Canadian or U.S. law enforcement that Canadian-produced fentanyl is an increasing threat to the United States.”

As for shipments of precursor chemicals to Canada, the DEA says they can arrive in mislabelled packages which are then smuggled into Mexico by freight forwarders or re-shippers, without the knowledge of the initial shipper. This transshipment method is used to avoid detection and mask the country of origin, says the DEA.

Tariff Issue

Fentanyl in Canada became a key issue of criticism from the United States after U.S. President Donald Trump won the November 2024 election. Shortly after, he said he would impose broad tariffs on Canada and Mexico over border security and drug trafficking concerns.

In response, Canada presented a border security plan supported by $1.3 billion in investments and designated Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations, while Mexico said it was sending 10,000 troops to the border. Trump went ahead with the tariffs anyway in March, which were amended with exemptions for goods covered by the North American free trade deal.

Ottawa has stressed that only a small amount of fentanyl from Canada has been intercepted by U.S. border authorities compared to Mexico. That amount seized at the northern border was 43 pounds in financial year 2024, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data, compared to 21,100 pounds at the southern border.

A separate CBP dataset related to seizures by Air and Marine Operations shows a much higher amount at the northern border with 1,405 pounds seized in fiscal 2024, compared to 389 pounds at the southern border.

In recent messaging, the Canadian government has not downplayed the threat from fentanyl.

During his visit at the White House on May 6, Prime Minister Mark Carney called Trump a “transformational president” with a “relentless focus on the American worker, securing your border, ending the scourge of fentanyl.”

Carney added he’s been elected to “transform transform Canada with a similar focus on the economy, securing our borders, again, on fentanyl, much greater focus on defence and security.”