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.

Fentanyl trafficking, under existing law, can already be punished with life in prison, and sentences are often more than 10 years

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.