Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said on Wednesday that he will change criminal law if he's elected so that all drug "kingpins" convicted of trafficking what he's calling major quantities of fentanyl are hit with a mandatory life sentence in prison.

The federal Conservatives are promising to crack down on "fentanyl kingpins" by bringing in mandatory life sentences for those convicted of trafficking, producing or exporting more than 40 mg of the drug.

Poilievre is scheduled to hold a news conference in Vancouver later Wednesday. The Conservatives also want traffickers caught with between 20 mg and 40 mg of the drug to be sentenced to 15 years in prison. According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, two milligrams can kill a person. Health Canada says “a few grains” can be deadly.