Criminal organizations operating out of Canada are increasingly linked to deadly drug flows and money laundering that stretch deep into the United States, sparking renewed pressure from Washington and growing fears of sanctions against Canadian banks. These threats come after President Donald Trump’s designation of Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and his decision to impose new tariffs on Canadian goods starting April 2.
David Asher, a former senior State Department official involved with Trump-era national security efforts, warned that Chinese triads in Canada are at the center of a sprawling money laundering system that works hand in hand with Mexican drug cartels. According to Asher, this system enables a steady stream of synthetic drugs such as fentanyl, meth and ecstasy to flood U.S. communities.
“They’re in bed with each other,” Asher said of the Chinese and Mexican crime syndicates. He pointed to Tse Chi Lop, a notorious drug kingpin who operated out of Toronto, as evidence of the deep ties between the groups. Asher argued that with cartels now labeled as terrorist groups, Canada must treat these networks as threats to national security.
One major target is TD Bank, which has already pleaded guilty in the U.S. and paid over $3 billion for allowing criminal groups to move vast sums of illicit cash. American prosecutors said TD ignored warnings, allowed daily $1 million deposits and even had employees bribed with gift cards. The U.S. Attorney General called the bank’s failure so extreme that it effectively “became” a criminal tool.
Asher said the threat extends beyond TD, noting that other Canadian banks with operations in Mexico should also be scrutinized. If they’re shown to have handled drug money, even indirectly, they could fall under terrorism financing rules.
He also criticized Canada’s legal framework, particularly the Stinchcombe rule, which forces early disclosure of investigation details and has compromised undercover efforts. Asher described it as a major roadblock to cooperation, saying suspects simply change phone numbers and disappear once tipped off.
Illegal marijuana grown in Canada and mixed with fentanyl is now being trafficked into states like New York and Washington, according to Asher. He said the cash from U.S. drug sales is then laundered back into Canada, sometimes through Toronto-based banks.
The crisis has caused tension between U.S. and Canadian law enforcement. Asher blasted Canada for doing little to follow up on findings from past inquiries into Chinese organized crime and foreign interference, calling their lack of action “practically nothing.”
This is the kind of cross-border failure that President Donald Trump has cited as justification for the upcoming tariffs, aimed in part at pressuring Canada to take stronger action at its border to stop the flow of drugs and human trafficking into the United States.
