Minister says more than 7,000 Canadians have fled Middle East

Motorbikes drive past a billboard depicting Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, centre, handing the country’s flag to his son and successor Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, right, as the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini stands at left, in a square in downtown Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

OTTAWA — Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand says more than 7,000 Canadians have left the Middle East since the latest conflict began.

Anand told reporters Tuesday that includes more than 4,300 Canadians, permanent residents and their relatives who have returned to Canada between March 4 and March 8, using both direct and indirect routes.

“We will continue to provide options for Canadians who wish to leave the region,” the minister said.

“While we encourage Canadians to leave the region through commercial means, we will continue to offer support through block bookings, through charter flights if demand warrants, as well as through bus routes.”

Anand says the number of daily calls for help is now about half what it was last week.

Global Affairs Canada says 871 people have left the region for a safe third country such as Turkey.

As of Sunday, less than five per cent of the nearly 110,000 Canadians registered in the region had sought help to leave.

Global Affairs Canada says it is not aware of any Canadians killed or injured in the violence that started with American airstrikes on Iran on Feb. 28.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 10, 2026

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press