Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said on Wednesday that he will change the Criminal Code if he’s elected so that all drug ‘kingpins’ convicted of trafficking major quantities of fentanyl are hit with a mandatory life sentence in prison.
The policy announcement comes as President Donald Trump presses neighbouring Canada and Mexico to take a harder line on fentanyl to stop the flow of the deadly drug into the U.S. or face big tariffs.
U.S. government data shows comparatively little of the drug is coming over the northern border, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has committed more money and resources — including the appointment of a fentanyl “czar” — to crack down and satisfy Trump’s concerns.
“Making and selling fentanyl is mass murder,” Poilievre said in a statement.
“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.”
Poilievre said the mandatory life sentence would apply to all people convicted of selling “40 mg of this poison,” which he said is enough to kill 20 people. He’s pitching a 15-year sentence for traffickers convicted of selling smaller quantities between 20 and 40 mg.
The Criminal Code already allows judges to impose a life sentence for trafficking fentanyl and other drugs. Poilievre’s policy would take away the judge’s discretion.
Mandatory minimum sentencing policies have been overturned by the Supreme Court in the past, but Poilievre has said he’s open to using the notwithstanding clause to pass criminal laws through Parliament if his party forms the next government.