'Stop killing our kids': Poilievre promises mandatory life sentences for fentanyl 'kingpins' in Canada

“Making and selling fentanyl is mass murder. Selling 40 mg of this poison is enough to kill 20 people,” a statement from Poilievre says. “I will lock up fentanyl kingpins and throw away the key.

“It’s like spraying bullets into a crowd—even if you don’t aim, you will kill people. The penalty should be the same as murder. I will pass mandatory life sentences so fentanyl kingpins never get out of jail and stop killing our kids.”

Since 2016, opioid overdoses have claimed the lives of 49,000 Canadians, a 200% increase over the past eight years. In their statement, Poilievre believes this is in part due to controversial drug policies championed by the BC NDP government and the federal Liberals. 

Poilievre’s announcement on Wednesday promised:  

• Life sentences for anyone caught trafficking, producing or exporting over 40 mg of fentanyl and; 
• 15 years for traffickers caught with between 20mg to 40mg.

“Over 80 percent of accidental opioid deaths in Canada involve fentanyl. It takes just 2 mg of fentanyl to kill someone. That means just 40mg of fentanyl is enough to kill 20 people. Poilievre will treat mass fentanyl production like mass murder,” Poilievre’s camp wrote in a news release. 

With President Donald Trump ramping up pressure on trade and fentanyl-related issues, outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is pushing forward with his own anti-fentanyl measures.

As part of this effort, Trudeau’s government has appointed a new czar to oversee a nationwide crackdown on fentanyl trafficking. Additionally, Canada will formally designate drug cartels—major suppliers of deadly opioids in both Canada and the U.S.—as terrorist organizations under Canadian law.

This designation carries serious legal and financial implications, allowing Canadian banks to freeze cartel assets and enabling law enforcement to prosecute anyone providing financial or material support to these groups.

The federal government is also establishing a Canada-U.S. Joint Strike Force, tasked with targeting organized crime, fentanyl distribution, and money laundering.