Canada sending $5 million in humanitarian aid to those hit by Venezuelan earthquakes

The department says the government continues to monitor the situation and remains in close contact with partners to assess and respond to evolving needs over the coming days and weeks.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday Ottawa would send aid to the South American country after what he called “catastrophic earthquakes” overnight.

“It’s a, obviously, fast-developing tragedy,” Carney told reporters on Parliament Hill.

In a written statement, Carney expressed his condolences for the dead — who numbered at least 188 as of Thursday afternoon — and the hundreds of injured and displaced people.

The 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes were among the strongest to strike Venezuela in more than a century and could be felt throughout the region, The Associated Press reported.

Global Affairs Canada says there are 740 Canadians registered in Venezuela. The department says it’s not aware of any Canadians affected by the earthquakes.

Mariana Pacheco, a journalist in Quebec who left Venezuela for political reasons, said two of her husband’s cousins are missing in the most affected state, La Guaira. She said friends have been sending videos of flattened buildings and injured people.

“The government wasn’t ready for this,” Pacheco said in French. She runs the social media account Latinos en Quebec, where the Venezuelan diaspora community has been exchanging news of loved ones and ways to help support people.

Pacheco said a group chat of Venezuelans in Canada started lighting up within an hour of the first earthquake Wednesday night. What at first seemed to be a minor earthquake quickly triggered a wave of disturbing videos, she said.

“We cried a lot. We didn’t sleep because it was a difficult situation,” she said. “It’s a very, very terrible tragedy.”

She said multiple crowdfunding sites have emerged and she worries donations will flow to untrustworthy people instead of aid groups with established reputations.

Pacheco said the diaspora group Engagement Foundation is looking into how people might send cash, clothing or food to meet the needs of those on the ground.

“I want all Canadians, everyone, to know that the situation in Venezuela is very, very terrible. There is no communication, no electricity, no clean water, no food,” she said.

Canada and Venezuela have not formally severed relations but Ottawa closed its Caracas embassy in June 2019 after Venezuela refused to renew expiring visas for diplomats.

Canada had been among the most prominent countries supporting Venezuelan opposition leaders after an election that was widely viewed as stolen.

Human rights groups accuse the Venezuelan government of triggering a migration crisis through shortages of food and necessities caused by graft and economic mismanagement. The United Nations says 7.9 million people have fled Venezuela, mostly for other Latin American and Caribbean countries.

Samuel Brito, a recent college graduate in Toronto, has scrolled through scenes of devastation in his native Caracas on group chats and social media. He said it’s clear the government wasn’t prepared for the crisis.

“The people in charge of the government for the past 20-plus years destroyed every single thing the country has, in terms of economics (and) politics,” he said.

“They were so corrupt, they stole a lot of money that could have been sent to not only hospitals but … infrastructure that people need in case of an emergency.”

He said Venezuelans would welcome help from other countries and he’s sure they will pull through, given how many crises they’ve already survived.

“Even if these are tough times, we are going to recover,” he said. “We are hard workers. We are always there to help people out.”

In January, American forces captured Venezuela’s then-president Nicolas Maduro in a brazen raid in Caracas and hand-picked one of his deputies, Delcy Rodriguez, to run the country.

Her government has declared a state of emergency and asked for help from the global community. Pacheco said she hopes the political crisis doesn’t hinder aid.

“Countries that have political problems with Venezuela, they (can) leave that aside,” she said, adding she hopes Canada sends first responders. “Today, the most important thing is all the people who are missing.”

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre told reporters Thursday he was glad that Canada is sending aid and said the Venezuelan people should have a chance to choose their own leaders.

“We hope that we can minimize the losses and give the Venezuelan people relief in this terrible time,” he said.

Save the Children’s country director in Venezuela told reporters young people on the ground need psychological help after witnessing traumatic scenes.

In a teleconference from Caracas, Fatima Andraca said she ran out of her shaking home to find streets full of people wandering around, many of them holding bags of items they had managed to gather from their homes. Immediately, she said, people were offering water and someone gave her a pair of shoes.

“In these kinds of situations you find solidarity and you find community,” she said. “I found myself in a safe place with everyone — the policemen, the firefighters, everyone was trying to help and to (make) us safe.”

She said the government seems open to working with aid agencies.

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand wrote on the platform X that the suffering is “heartbreaking” and “many are facing unbearable days ahead without shelter, food or certainty.”

Global Affairs Canada officials are in touch with regional partners and aid groups, Anand wrote, and Canada will “contribute to humanitarian efforts as appropriate.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 25, 2026.