Alberta’s fentanyl crackdown will see peace officers team with police

The Alberta government says roughly 800 peace officers will team up with 34 police forces across the province to crack down on fentanyl.

It comes following threats from U.S. President Donald Trump, who has demanded that Canada get tough on fentanyl or face tariffs on Canadian goods.

Officials say the measure comes in response to the province wanting to work with all levels of government to address concerns around fentanyl trafficking and border security.

Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis says the crisis demands immediate action and that having a unified command ensures a co-ordinated team response to combat the illicit drug trade.

Ellis sent a letter to municipal governments earlier in February asking them to temporarily allow police departments to offer up bylaw and peace officers to be deployed to address fentanyl and social disorder concerns.

Officials say municipalities are to work with police leadership to bring their community peace officer programs under the temporary leadership of police. The province says it will monitor the effectiveness of these changes in improving public safety to “ensure the best path forward.”

Related: Canadian border agents seize millions of drugs in transport trucks at southern Alberta border

Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek said earlier this week the sort of cooperation Ellis wants from municipalities is already underway. The mayor says the city introduced a Public Transit Safety Strategy in 2023, which sees integration between peace officers, transit officers and the police service, along with security guards and outreach teams.

Premier Danielle Smith expressed her intention earlier this month to escalate Alberta’s war on fentanyl and “take immediate steps” to increase police and prosecutorial resources to go after fentanyl labs, “kingpins” and dealers.

The move comes after Trump expressed concerns about the flow of fentanyl into the U.S., citing this as one of his reasons for threatening tariffs on Canadian imports.

While relatively little fentanyl comes from Canada, the country announced a czar to address the issue and appease Trump in addition to existing measures.