YEREVAN, Armenia - Canada is sending more military aid to Ukraine as it continues to defend itself against Russia.
Prime Minister Mark Carney made the announcement at the European Political Community summit in Yerevan, Armenia, on Monday, saying Canada will contribute about $270 million toward critical military capabilities, drawn from NATO’s prioritized list of needs for Ukraine.
The funding adds to more than $25 billion Canada has already committed to supporting Ukraine since Russia launched its full‑scale invasion in 2022.
The money will be used to buy munitions from the United States. Despite pressure from the war with Iran, the United States will be able to meet Ukraine’s needs, Carney says.
The prime minister held a slate of bilateral meetings with other leaders while at the summit, including with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
As he arrived, Carney told reporters Canada “is one of the largest per capita contributors to Ukraine” in its war with Russia.
Carney is the first non-European leader to be invited to this summit. Canada is attempting to deepen trade and security ties with Europe as the United States continues to shift priorities away from traditional allies.
“A lot’s happened in the last 12 months, and some of it we saw coming, but more of it has occurred,” Carney told reporters in Armenia. “And the importance of alliances with reliable partners, deepening those alliances, has become ever, ever more so.”
“There is a series of linkages here,” Carney also said, pointing to the international relationships he’s pushing to strengthen. “From security, through economics, that are being reinforced, working in real time.”
Taking questions from reporters following his bilateral meeting with Carney, European Council President Antonio Costa was asked why an invitation to the summit was extended to Carney. Costa described Canada as “one of the closest countries in the world to Europe.”
He said Canada and the bloc of countries are “like-minded,” they “share a certain vision of the world,” and are committed to upholding multiculturalism.
Costa said Carney’s speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in January — during which the prime minister said the old-world order is over — was “a great inspiration.”
“I think what we are doing today is what he said,” Costa said. “We need to be closer, and we need to work together closer.”
Speaking to delegates at the summit during the trip, Carney also emphasized why Canada is so focused on Europe.
“As the rules-based order ... is rebuilt, it will be rebuilt in Europe,” Carney said.
