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Fentanyl has emerged as the primary cause of illicit drug deaths in Canada and the United States, and its trafficking has been cited by U.S. President Donald Trump to justify his threat of steep tariffs on goods from Canada.

But the potent opioid also has a decades long history and is extensively used as a medical pain management tool. Here's a look at the drug and how it's used:

— Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid used to help relieve severe pain.

— Health Canada says fentanyl is 20 to 40 times more potent than heroin and up to 100 times more potent than morphine.

McGill University undergrad Daniel Miksha made a significant decision over the weekend.

After hearing the news that U.S. President Donald Trump planned to impose 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian exports, Miksha shelved his plans to apply to Boston University, Yale and Harvard for graduate studies.

Key cabinet ministers returned to Washington Tuesday to keep pressing Canada's economic case as a month-long pause on Donald Trump's tariff threat has done little to ease Canada's concerns.

"I do think there are opportunities for conversations to enable us actually to move away from the conversation about tariffs," Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said Tuesday.

The federal Conservatives and New Democrats say the government needs to recall Parliament within the next month to act on U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff threat.

On Monday, Trump agreed not to impose punishing tariffs on Canadian imports until March 4 after striking a deal with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over two phone calls.

Trudeau says he presented Trump with the federal government's plan to secure the border and tackle fentanyl production and trafficking.

Uncertainty still hangs over the Canadian economy despite U.S. President Donald Trump announcing a 30-day pause in tariffs that were to take effect today.

The temporary reprieve halts — at least for now — a continental trade war that economists on both sides of the border warned would raise prices.

Trump's decision meant Canada and the provinces also halted their moves to retaliate including with tariffs and bans on U.S. alcohol sales north of the border.

U.S. President Donald Trump has agreed not to impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico for another month, pulling back from a plan that would have tipped North America into a trade war on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke with Trump twice on Monday, their first discussions since the president took over the White House on Jan. 20. After what Trudeau described on social media as a "good call" in the afternoon, the two leaders agreed to pause tariffs for at least 30 days.

The association representing bankers in Canada says U.S. subsidiaries and branches represent half of all foreign bank assets in the country, despite false claims by U.S. President Donald Trump that American banks can't do business north of the border.

"There are 16 U.S. based bank subsidiaries and branches with around C$113 billion in assets currently operating in Canada," the Canadian Bankers Association said in a statement Monday.

Following a phone conversation Tuesday afternoon, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that U.S. President Donald Trump is pausing threatened 25 per cent tariffs on most Canadian goods. Trudeau says he and Trump discussed Canada's $1.3 billion border plan, which includes helicopter patrols, and announced $200 million in new initiatives to address fentanyl trafficking.

These new initiatives include a joint Canada-U.S. organized crime task force, Canada listing drug cartels as terrorist entities, and the appointment of a "fentanyl czar."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's office says he spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump this morning and will speak with him again later this afternoon.

The call comes as Canadian leaders respond to Trump's 25 per cent tariffs, which are set to take effect on Tuesday.

Trump has linked his coming trade war with Canada to fentanyl crossing the border into the U.S., but in a post on Truth Social today he raised an entirely new grievance.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced last night Canada will retaliate after U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed 25 per cent tariffs against Canadian goods would go into effect Tuesday.

Trudeau said Saturday that Canada will respond with 25 per cent tariffs against $155 billion worth of American goods, including alcohol, furniture and natural resources.

Here's the latest (all times Eastern -- check back for the latest developments):

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8:27 p.m.