Carney defends $22.6 billion Ukraine aid package as ‘Canadian values’
https://www.westernstandard.news/news/carney-defends-226-billion-ukraine-aid-package-as-canadian-values/73606
Prime Minister Mark Carney defended billions in Canadian aid and military support for Ukraine, calling the spending an expression of “Canadian values” despite growing public skepticism over the prolonged conflict.
“We’re going to be on the right side of history,” Carney told reporters while reaffirming Ottawa’s commitment to Ukraine and NATO allies.
Blacklock's Reporter said official figures show Canada has committed $22.6 billion in aid to Ukraine since the Russian invasion began.
The total includes $8.64 billion in military and foreign aid, more than $1 billion in refugee support inside Canada and another $13.93 billion in loans, credit arrangements and guarantees.
Carney said Canada would continue cooperating with allies and expanding defence partnerships, particularly in areas tied to the war in Ukraine.
“We will be cooperating with other partners and diversifying our defence cooperation as we should, as a member of NATO,” said Carney.
“As we should in critical areas such as Ukraine where it is outside direct NATO responsibility but it’s consistent with our values as Canada and it’s consistent with the values of the vast number of our partners.”
“We stand there and Ukraine is going to triumph and we’re going to be on the right side of history for that,” he added.
The Prime Minister also argued the war was reshaping military strategy worldwide and providing lessons for the Canadian Armed Forces.
“The tragedy of the war in Ukraine, the unjustified attack on Ukraine, is changing fundamentally the nature of offence and defence in a ground war in Europe but also with broader applications,” said Carney.
“Drone warfare, and the integration of drone warfare with artificial intelligence, machine learning, the links in that, is a fundamental change,” he said.
“We are supporting Ukraine as you know, and we are also learning from Ukraine.”
Carney’s remarks came as internal Privy Council research showed many Canadians are increasingly indifferent or skeptical about continued involvement in the conflict.
A 2024 government report titled Continuous Qualitative Data Collection Of Canadians’ Views found many participants believed Canada’s contributions had achieved little and that prospects for peace remained remote.
“It was felt Canada’s contributions had not had much of an impact and that Ukraine’s efforts to end the conflict had stalled with little hope for peace in the foreseeable future,” said the report.
Researchers also found many Canadians no longer closely followed developments in Ukraine after years of war coverage.
“Many shared that while they had previously followed the conflict quite closely they were no longer as well-informed as they had once been,” the report stated.
Some participants said they were no longer as worried about the conflict as they had been earlier in the war. Others raised concerns about the economic consequences for Canadians at home.
“Other Canadians expressed concerns regarding the potential impacts this conflict could have on the Canadian economy and fuel prices,” the report said.
The focus group research also found many respondents felt grateful Canada remained geographically distant from global military conflicts and unlikely to face invasion or direct warfare.