Summary – 2025 Public Report on Organized Crime

On this page

1. Why this assessment
2. What was found
3. Contact us

Why this assessment

This report provides an overview of the organized crime landscape in Canada, highlights the harms that organized crime activities and key actors present to the country's economy and society. The report also provides an overview of the national high-level threats and their networks.

What was found

Organized crime (OC) remains a prominent threat to public safety, contributing to thousands of deaths annually from overdoses due to illicit drugs, notably fentanyl, and gang violence.

The Criminal Intelligence Service Canada (CISC) network assessed and assigned a threat rating to 493 Organized Crime Groups (OCGs) as part of the 2025 Integrated Threat Assessment (ITA) process. More specifically, 8 OCGs are assessed as national high-level threats (HTL), 100 as medium-level threats and 385 as low-level threats.

Organized crime is a transnational threat that relies on cross-border trafficking and cyberspace to fuel the criminal marketplace in Canada.

The Canadian criminal marketplace remains import-centric, as OCGs primarily exploit the Canadian border to smuggle illicit commodities into the country, particularly cocaine from South America and precursor chemicals from China and India, as well as firearms and irregular migrants from the United States (U.S.).

Violence and violent conflicts involving the use of firearms are central components to the activities of organized crime, with more than 50% of OCGs implicated in the illicit firearms market.

Most national HLTs remain assessed at that level year-over-year, demonstrating resilience and their ability to maintain operations against changing market conditions, competition from rivals, and/or disruption efforts by enforcement. The shift toward networked cells from a more traditional hierarchy as previously exhibited by entrenched groups may be a response to the effectiveness of previous law enforcement targeting.

The most threatening criminal networks are transnational in nature. OCGs continue to maintain diverse international connections with links to 50 countries in 2025. The most frequented destinations for criminal purposes continue to be the U.S., Mexico, Colombia, and the United Arab Emirates, where Canadian transnational OCGs source illicit drugs and firearms, and launder proceeds of crime. China and Australia complete the list of top 6 countries.

More than 560 street gangs operate in Canada. Many are expanding operations to new jurisdictions, collaborating with other OCGs, and readily engaging in violence to further their criminal enterprise.

Indigenous communities in Canada are facing an escalating threat from organized crime, driven by the opioid toxicity crisis, violent street gangs, and emerging risks linked to climate change and the shifting security landscape in the Arctic.

In 2025, 58% of assessed Canadian OCGs were associated to businesses via ownership, employment, or exploitation, enabling them to move illicit commodities, launder proceeds of crime, and conceal the scale of their operations. By embedding themselves in legal business environments, OCGs become intertwined with the broader Canadian economic fabric.

Attempts at infiltrating government and law enforcement organizations in Canada by Canadian-based OCGs continues to pose a threat not only to the safety and security of Canadians, but also to the integrity of Canada's political and economic environment.

Contact us

For a copy of the full report, please send an email request to the following address: rcmp.cisc-scrc.grc@rcmp-grc.gc.ca.