The home affairs and security ministers of Canada and other G7 countries are pledging to work together to aggressively combat transnational organized crime.
Wrapping up a two-day meeting in Ottawa, G7 ministers said Sunday they are committed to making it impossible for global criminal gangs to finance and profit from their heinous activities.
In a joint statement, the ministers said transnational criminal organizations are “ruthless in their pursuit of profit, power and influence” through corruption, violence and other illicit means.
“Combating them requires both a shared global understanding and a commitment to cooperation.”
The statement added that G7 countries recognize the need for “innovative approaches” to combating organized crime threats, including using measures applied in other areas such as counter-terrorism and cybersecurity where necessary.
Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangari said transnational organized crime was intertwined with terrorism, cyber attacks and the exploitation of migrants.
“This is all coming together into a more centralized set of problems that law enforcement has not faced in the past,” he told the media after the meetings.
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“So we expect to be increasingly working across multiple fronts to ensure that we look at these situations holistically and address them by connecting the dots.”
The G7, an informal grouping of leading economies, includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as the European Union.
Magnus Brunner, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration, said organized crime groups had become more sophisticated and global in their reach.
Brunner said in an interview that fighting criminal organizations involved in the lucrative drug trade means that “we have to cooperate on an international basis – share data, share information, and also exchange policies.”
Donald Trump's White House has raised concerns about the flow of fentanyl south into the United States, criticism he has used to justify tariffs against Canada.
Anandasangari said he had good conversations with U.S. representatives at G7 meetings, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Rob Lowe, deputy secretary of Homeland Security, including mention of Canada's efforts to strengthen border security through new spending and legislation.
“We have not entered into trade discussions at this stage because it is not my area of expertise,” Anandasangari said.
In their statement, G7 ministers reaffirmed their commitment to identifying and disrupting the production, trafficking and distribution of illicit synthetic drugs, including opioids such as fentanyl and their precursor chemicals.
The meeting participants also discussed the problems of migrant smuggling and intimidation of diasporas by authoritarian states.
They also discussed tactics for addressing online challenges related to terrorist and violent extremist content, cybercrime, and Internet-related aspects of child sexual exploitation and abuse.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
