The federal government appointed former Mountie Kevin Brosseau as Canada's new "fentanyl czar" on Tuesday — a role created in part to soothe U.S. President Donald Trump's concerns about the northern border and pause a developing trade war.

Canada has named a former deputy commissioner with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as the country’s fentanyl czar.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office announced that former RCMP deputy commissioner Kevin Brosseau will be taking on the job of working with Canada’s law enforcement agencies and their U.S. counterparts to eradicate the “scourge of fentanyl.”

The effort is one of a number of actions taken by Canada amid rising concerns of a trade war with its neighbour.

Canada has appointed Kevin Brosseau as its first fentanyl czar to tackle the flow of the synthetic opioid and placate US concerns. This move is in response to President Trump's threats of imposing tariffs on Canadian imports unless more stringent measures are taken to curb fentanyl smuggling.

OTTAWA — Canada said Tuesday it had appointed a fentanyl czar, after promising US President Donald Trump it would boost efforts to combat flow of the drug across the border in exchange for a pause on tariff threats.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed former Mountie Kevin Brosseau to serve as the country's fentanyl czar on Tuesday following President Donald Trump's tariff threats.

The Liberal government has named Kevin Brosseau, a former senior Mountie, to be the federal point person on fighting the spread of deadly fentanyl.