OTTAWA – Experts say Prime Minister Mark Carney raised more questions than answers about Canada’s position when he said he’s not ready to rule out sending troops to Ukraine once the war with Russia ends.
Justin Massie, co-director of the Network for Strategic Analysis, says Carney’s recent comments were “very cautious” — and far less committal than that of other allies.
France and the U.K. have declared plans to deploy a multinational brigade once the war ends to deter potential future Russian attacks.
But internal Department of National Defence reports have warned that current operational demands have the Canadian Armed Forces stretched thin.
Defence Minister David McGuinty says he’s confident the Canadian military would have the capacity to send troops into a postwar Ukraine.
But he also says the prime minister was “speaking in the context of a whole series of possibilities” and that it’s “difficult to prejudge” what kind of further contributions Canada might make — which could instead come in the form of intelligence, logistics or equipment.
— With files from Craig Lord in Warsaw, Poland
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 25, 2025.
