Fentanyl is killing more people per capita in Canada than in the United States, Ottawa's public safety minister said on Thursday, calling the two nations "connected" in combating the opioid crisis.

US President Donald Trump has accused Canada of not doing enough to counter the flow of fentanyl across their shared border, and cited the issue as justification for his threatened import tariffs.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government has committed to addressing those concerns, while maintaining that less than one percent of fentanyl in the United States comes from Canada.

"On per capita population, we're losing more Canadians than Americans are losing Americans," Public Safety Minister David McGuinty told reporters on Thursday.

"We are connected with this crisis."

According to US estimates, an average of 205 Americans have died each day of opioid overdoses in recent years, mostly from fentanyl.

Canada has seen 21 deaths per day, according to the latest data, but its population is about 12 times smaller than that of its southern neighbour.

McGuinty's remarks came after he met with senior federal police and border agency officials "to operationalise" a US$900 million border security plan launched in response to Trump's tariffs threat.

The 25 percent tariffs - which Trump has also said were necessary to force action to stem migrant crossings - were scheduled to take effect on Tuesday.

But the president granted Canada a 30-day reprieve to allow for further talks.

As part of the last-minute deal to put off the tariffs, the prime minister agreed to name a point person to lead the fight against fentanyl. (AFP)