Carney Appoints Fentanyl Czar to Additional Coast Guard Post in Senior Public Service Shuffle

Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced several changes to the senior ranks of the public service, including giving Canada’s fentanyl czar two additional roles.

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a March 4 statement that Kevin Brosseau, who is currently commissioner of Canada’s Fight Against Fentanyl, will also become senior associate deputy minister of National Defence and commissioner of the Canadian Coast Guard.

Brosseau, who formerly served as deputy commissioner of the RCMP, was appointed to the newly created position of fentanyl czar in February 2025. The PMO said that in his role, Brosseau was to work “closely” with his counterparts in the United States to accelerate Canada’s work to detect and dismantle the fentanyl trade.

Former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada would appoint a fentanyl commissioner following a Feb. 3, 2025, phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump, amid U.S. threats to impose 25 percent tariffs on Canadian imports and 10 percent tariffs on energy products.Trump had threatened tariffs on Canada and Mexico in response to fentanyl coming over the U.S. border from the two countries.

Trump ultimately ended up imposing tariffs on Canada and Mexico under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

Brosseau told MPs during an appearance before the public safety and national security committee on Oct. 23, that while just one-tenth of one percent of fentanyl reported by U.S. Customs and Border Protection since 2022 came from Canada, “any amount is too much.”

Brosseau said that since being appointed fentanyl czar, he had worked with partners “across all levels of government and law enforcement agencies,” as well as with U.S. and international partners, to dismantle the fentanyl trade.

The PMO also announced that Glenn Purves, formerly BlackRock’s global head of macro research, will become deputy minister of international trade. Purves had held the position at BlackRock for just one year, and prior to that he worked for the Canadian government for around 12 years.

Beyond Purves, Carney has also previously appointed other private-sector executives to senior government roles. Carney named energy industry executive and the former head of Trans Mountain Corp., Dawn Farrell, to lead the new Major Projects Office in August 2025. In October, the prime minister also announced that Doug Guzman, previously a managing director at Goldman Sachs, would be CEO of the new Defence Investment Agency.

Rob Stewart, who was serving as deputy minister of international trade, will become the deputy minister responsible for leading the creation of the new Financial Crimes Agency. The new agency was introduced in Budget 2025 and aims to investigate money laundering, organized criminal activity, online scams, and recover illicit proceeds of crime.

Before becoming deputy minister of international trade in 2022, Stewart served as deputy minister of public safety, and as the federal government’s finance deputy for the G7 and G20 summits.

David Morrison, the outgoing deputy minister of foreign affairs, will become Carney’s senior diplomatic and international affairs advisor. Morrison will also serve as personal representative of the prime minister for the G7 and G20 summits. Arun Thangaraj, deputy minister of transport, will become deputy foreign affairs minister.

The Privy Council Office (PCO) also later confirmed to The Epoch Times that Morrison will become the new national security and intelligence advisor. The PCO said in a March 6 statement he will be responsible for ensuring that Canada’s security strategies and processes are “resilient and capable of meeting our security requirements in a changing world.”

Ted Gallivan, the interim deputy national security and intelligence adviser to the prime minister, will also become deputy minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship. Gallivan previously worked at the Canada Border Services Agency and the Canada Revenue Agency in senior roles.