Prime Minister Mark Carney is open to deploying Canadian troops to Ukraine as part of a peace guarantee if a ceasefire is reached.
Carney made the remarks Sunday in Kyiv during an unannounced stop that coincided with Ukraine’s Independence Day. He met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and delivered a speech in Sophia Square.
“I would not exclude the presence of troops,” Carney said at a joint news conference with Zelenskyy. He added that Ukraine’s military must be supported, but “that needs to be buttressed, it needs to be reinforced” through broader security guarantees “by land, air and sea.”
Carney said “there will be no exclusion of pathways for Ukraine to the European Union or to NATO,” insisting that “there will be security guarantees in any durable ceasefire.”
He also noted that Canada became the largest per capita financial donor to Ukraine under his predecessor, Justin Trudeau.
“Today I come here with the honour of leading Canada’s new government. I commit that Canada will remain by Ukraine’s side in the fight for independence, sovereignty and freedom,” Carney said.
In a speech marking Ukraine’s Independence Day, Carney told Ukrainians that “Canada will always stand in solidarity with Ukraine.” He added that when peace comes, “Canada will be there. We will be there with you to promote peace, security and prosperity for Ukraine once the killing stops.”
Despite the strong words of support, some observers questioned Canada’s influence in Europe.
Christian Leuprecht, a professor at Queen’s University and the Royal Military College of Canada, told CTV News that Ottawa’s record has been seen as largely symbolic.
“Canada has spent a decade making many performative announcements that are not being taken seriously by our allies,” Leuprecht said.
“For Prime Minister, that’s an important show of force by Canada, but it’s also telling the Prime Minister is there alone.”
He added that Canada’s armed forces remain “exceptionally thin after two decades of undercapitalization, underfunding and understaffing,” and the country “still has a lot of heavy lifting to do” to be taken seriously by its allies.