Canada will hike military aid to Ukraine by $2 billion

Later Tuesday, MPs on both sides of the House of Commons stood to observe a moment of silence for Ukraine and the victims of Russian aggression.

Carney said it is clear “Russia is failing to achieve all of its objectives, four years into this conflict, 12 years if you include its annexation, its illegal annexation of Crimea. But four years on, Russia is failing militarily, strategically and economically.

“We are tightening sanctions, including on the shadow fleet, an additional 100 vessels in Russia’s shadow fleet,” Carney said. “This is the fleet that effectively facilitates illegal exports of crude oil. So, we’re tightening that lifeblood from the Russian economy along with our allies.”

Scooping a news announcement his defence minister was supposed to make later in the day, Carney said that Canada would provide $2 billion of additional military aid over the next year, and would arrange to supply 400 armoured vehicles “in kind,” suggesting Ottawa would provide the funds to purchase those vehicles for Ukraine.

In addition to financial sanctions, Carney said that in co-ordination with the European Union and the United Kingdom, Ukraine’s G7 and EU allies agreed to a further lowering of the oil price cap that since 2022 has ensured Russian seaborne crude oil is sold at below-market prices, to constrain revenues for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war machine. 

The prime minister made a point of stating Canada is the third-largest contributor to an air defence system co-ordinated by NATO, known as the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List, which ensures rapid delivery of air defence interceptors for Ukraine, largely through the purchase of American equipment.

“So Canada stands with Ukraine. The coalition of the willing stands with Ukraine. We’re in it for the long haul,” said Carney.

“Russia is failing. The sooner they come to the table and actually participate in peace negotiations, the better it will be for everybody.”

Defence Minister David McGuinty said Canada will also extend and expand its military training program for Ukraine combat soldiers until 2029.

A news release added Ottawa will provide $20 million in additional support to the Ukraine Energy Support Fund.

McGuinty told the House of Commons Ottawa’s latest round of sanctions will apply to 21 individuals and 53 organizations mainly targeting the energy sector, on top of about 4,000 targets already targeted by Canada in co-ordination with allies. 

The measures announced Tuesday augment what Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said is a total Canadian aid package of $23.5 billion in military, financial, economic and humanitarian assistance to the war-torn country since Russia bombed Kyiv and sent its forces into Ukraine, expecting a swift surrender.

Without mentioning U.S. President Donald Trump — who has frequently questioned Zelenskyy’s willingness to negotiate a peace agreement to end the war — Anand dismissed “naysayers” who suggest Ukraine is an unwilling participant. 

Speaking at the University of Ottawa, Anand said the Ukrainian president “has said numerous times he wants to work with the United States. Ukraine wants peace, and at the same time, Ukraine must have its territorial integrity and sovereignty intact, which is a reasonable position to take.”

Although the prime minister did not mention increased humanitarian assistance, the latest moves were welcomed by the Canada-Ukraine Foundation, whose executive director Valeriy Kostyuk had appealed to the federal government a day earlier to match any 2026 private donations to the organization.

In an interview Tuesday, Kostyuk said, “The sad reality is that Canada’s best humanitarian impact is to support Ukraine militarily.” That includes supplying more weapons, and applying more sanctions, he said.

“It is in our humanitarian interest that the occupied zones do not become larger,” he said. “This past winter, we’ve been focusing on heat. Putin is weaponizing winter and hitting power infrastructure, so we focused on keeping people alive by keeping them warm in the coldest winter in a decade.

“So anything that the Canadian government is doing militarily on the sanction front is a step in the right direction.”

The foundation, along with the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, has raised $100 million in aid to Ukraine in the past four years, providing food, water, hygiene kits, blankets, medical equipment, home heating and power generators, along with medical and demining support.

In a written statement, Ihor Michalchyshyn, head of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, also applauded more Canadian military aid.

“Because of the Trump administration’s ongoing appeasement of Russia there is no prospect of a negotiated peace. It is therefore more important than ever that allies ensure Ukraine’s victory. It can be done: the combined GDP of Canada, the U.K. and the EU is 10 times that of Russia,” he said.

“At the same time, sanctions must be increased on Russia and those who ignore or circumvent them by buying the dirty Russian oil that finances a regime of war criminals.”

Conservative defence critic James Bezan urged the Canadian government look at its aging stock of light-armoured vehicles, armoured ambulances and other weapons systems. “Let’s donate them, instead of decommissioning them as we find new equipment for our military,” he said.

“And finally, Putin and his barbaric military must be held to account for their war crimes and their crimes against humanity, and they must be dragged in front of The Hague and the International Criminal Court,” said Bezan, in a call echoed by the NDP.