‘It’s pretty alarming’: Edmonton singled out in conversation on Canadian drug crisis

Donald Trump's administration says Edmonton has a fentanyl problem. Jeremy Thompson has reaction.

Edmonton has been singled out as a bad example of Canada’s drug problem as fentanyl takes centre stage in tariff talks.

In an interview with CNBC on Monday, White House Director of the Economic Council Kevin Hasset pointed to Alberta’s capital city while saying President Donald Trump’s tariff threats were related to the danger Canadian fentanyl poses to the U.S.

“I was in Edmonton last summer, and as I walked out of my hotel, I saw an ambulance responding to someone who had overdosed on fentanyl. Then, as I walked to a restaurant, two people got into a fight with cops over drugs — right there in downtown Edmonton. That was just one day of my visit,” Hasset said.

“The fact is, Canada has a drug crisis, and it’s spilling into the U.S. It needs to stop. That’s what both the Canadian and American people want.”

The Government of Canada reports a total of 49,105 opioid deaths reported between January of 2016 and June 2024. In 2023 alone, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 74,702 fentanyl overdose deaths.

Mayor Amarjeet Sohi and Coun. Tim Cartmell responded to Hasset’s comments on Tuesday.

“I think it’s pretty alarming when somebody in the United States goes on a national network and uses Edmonton as an example of the disorder and the scourge of fentanyl use in Canada,” Cartmell said.

“Edmonton is disproportionately impacted by the drug poisoning crisis because we are a service hub for the regional communities,” Sohi explained. “A lot of people come to our community to access those health-related services and they fall through the cracks.

“We have the highest concentration of correctional facilities in our city. So when people are being released from those facilities, if they don’t have the proper support in place, they fall through the cracks.”

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Government data shows Edmonton had the highest rate of drug poisoning deaths last year, with 441 people dying of opioid overdose between January and October 2024, with fentanyl accounting for 96 per cent of those deaths.

Where the majority of overdose deaths previously happened in the person’s own home, overdose deaths have become increasingly public since 2023.

Doug Griffiths, president and CEO of the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce, doesn’t deny the city has been experiencing issues with drugs and crime.

However, he pointed out, only a very small percentage of fentanyl crossing into the U.S. comes from Canada.

According to U.S. border authorities, of the 21,900 pounds of fentanyl crossing into the U.S. last year, only 43 pounds came from Canada – that’s about 0.2 per cent of the total coming across all borders.

“It’s unfortunate that one anecdotal story and one experience is being projected onto the entire city. I think that’s incredibly irresponsible of that individual,” Griffiths said. “It’s a bit of a reflection of downtown, perhaps after the pandemic, but it is transitioning. It is changing, and it is going to improve.

“And it’s also not reflective, not only not of the city of Edmonton, but of Canada in general.”

In an interview on CTV’s Power Play with Vassy Kapelos on Tuesday, Premier Danielle Smith reiterated her calls to heed Trump’s border demands regardless of how much fentanyl is actually moving across the northern U.S. border.

“We should stop making excuses,” Smith said. “Stop saying, ‘Yeah, but we’re not as bad as the other guys.’ We should just say, ‘Yes, we agree, and we’re going to take care of our part of the issue, so you don’t have to worry about us anymore.’”

Sohi said he has been asking both the provincial and federal governments for years to increase resources for mental health and addiction, and he hopes the current conversations over fentanyl will result in renewed efforts to address the current drug crisis.

“Every death related to a list of drugs and fentanyl is avoidable, whether that death happens in the U.S., whether that happens in Canada, whether that happens in our own city, in Edmonton,” Sohi said.

“As governments, as elected officials, as a community, we have a responsibility to do what we can in our capacity to stop this deadly supply of drugs.”

Jason Nixon, Alberta minister of seniors, community and social services, said the province has spent at “record rates” to tackle the housing crisis and drug epidemic in Edmonton, while Dan Williams, minister of mental health and addiction, recently said opioid-related fatalities were down 38 per cent in the province.

Earlier this year in response to Trump’s threats, Smith announced Alberta would pay $29 million to secure the province’s southern border – though she said human trafficking appears to be the main issue there.

In response to Trump’s tariff threat, Canada promised a $1.3-billion border package in December. More recently, Ottawa agreed to appoint a ‘fentanyl czar’ to work with Canadian and U.S. officials on stopping cross-border drug trade.

The expected tariffs have now been postponed until March.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Jeremy Thompson