By The Canadian Press

CBSA says 67 per cent of drugs seized in month-long operation were coming into Canada

May 28, 2025 | 3:02 PM

OTTAWA — More than 67 per cent of the drugs seized during a month-long cross-country Canada Border Services Agency operation were coming into Canada from the United States, the agency says.

Operation Blizzard took place from Feb. 12 to March 13 and targeted illegal drugs and precursor chemicals transported by mail, air cargo or marine container, the CBSA said in a news release Wednesday. The agency said it focused on shipments going to the United States.

CBSA said it conducted over 2,600 seizures across the country and just 17.5 per cent of the total seized was destined for the United States.

The operation included 116 seizures of fentanyl, amounting to 1.73 kilograms of the deadly drug. CBSA said 1.44 kilograms of that fentanyl was headed to the United States.

The agency said it also seized methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, opium, MDMA — also called ecstasy or molly — cannabis and cannabis-related products.

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“CBSA personnel work day in and day out to prevent criminal organizations from exploiting our borders,” CBSA president Erin O’Gorman said in the news release. “With Operation Blizzard, we stopped narcotics, synthetic opioids and fentanyl from reaching communities both at home and across the world.”

Operation Blizzard was part of Canada’s boosted border plan enacted in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, which he linked to the flow of fentanyl.

Trump hit Canada with economywide tariffs in March, only to partially walk back the duties a few days later for imports compliant with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade.

Ottawa responded to Trump’s initial tariff threat with a $1.3-billion border security plan and named Kevin Brosseau as the new “fentanyl czar.”

“Fentanyl and other illegal drugs pose a threat to our communities and to public safety,” Brosseau said in the Wednesday news release.

“The Canada Border Services Agency, with initiatives like Operation Blizzard, is directly contributing to detect, disrupt and dismantle the fentanyl trade.”

Data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection show that fentanyl seizures at the Canada-U.S. border represented less than 0.1 per cent of the total seized between 2022 and 2024.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 28, 2025.

The Canadian Press