Canada loaning $120M to Ukraine, looking at further actions in face of Russian aggression
Canada will loan the Ukraine government up to $120 million in the face of Russia’s ongoing attempts to destabilize Ukraine, and continues to explore “other” ways to get involved, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Friday.
“Russia is aiming to destabilize Ukraine, including economically. This loan will help support Ukraine's economic resilience,” Trudeau said. “We're also exploring other options to provide financial and other supports.”
The prime minister said that the federal government is still assessing other requests for assistance from Ukraine, including appeals to extend and expand the Canadian military training mission UNIFIER, provide “defensive weapon and equipment,” and impose “severe” sanctions to raise the cost of any further Russian action.
“We are of course looking to do more, and we will have more to say as the situation unfolds,” Trudeau said.
Canada has also offered Ukraine a “technical assistance grant of up to $6 million to support the implementation of the loan,” with officials in talks about the terms of the sovereign loan and its rollout.
This isn’t the first time Canada has loaned Ukraine money. In 2014 and 2015 a total of $400 million was provided and it was repaid with interest as of 2020, according to the government.
Facing a series of questions from reporters on the developing situation – Trudeau wouldn’t specify what Canada’s line would be for sending further military assistance or weapons, whether an incursion of tanks over the border, or Russian troops entering Kyiv – saying he wouldn’t engage in hypotheticals.
“Any movement of Russian troops into Ukraine will be absolutely unacceptable and met with a clear response from the international community,” he said.
“We have been engaged in significant diplomatic efforts as a global community and been very, very clear that it is not in the interest of Ukrainian people, it's not in the interests of the Russian people, to see a conflict in which Russian and Ukrainian soldiers are killing each other.”
The buildup of thousands of Russian troops at Ukrainian borders and revived concerns over Russian-based cyber attacks and political interference have prompted concerted, daily attention from NATO countries including Canada and the United States, despite claims from Russia that it has no intention of invading.
In a statement released Friday, the Ukrainian Embassy in Canada said that there has been a flurry of visits and bilateral calls and consultations with NATO-member countries in recent days.
When it comes to further armed support, the embassy said the U.K. and U.S. have already shipped military equipment to help equip their Territorial Defence Forces, and they would like to see Canada follow suit.
“We have hundreds of Russian tanks and armoured vehicles deployed along the Ukrainian border and in the occupied parts of Ukraine’s territory. Facing the risk of a further Russian invasion, we need to defend our land,” reads the statement.
Reacting to the latest news, Conservative MP James Bezan, who was among 13 Canadian politicians banned from Russia in 2014, called on the federal Liberals to be decisive on Ukraine’s other requests for assistance.
"Today, Justin Trudeau failed to announce lethal defensive weapons for Ukraine, the use of Magnitsky sanctions, or RADARSAT imagery. We are facing the prospect of a full invasion of Ukraine by Russia and Justin Trudeau is sitting on the fence,” he said in a statement.
The NDP said Friday they are in support of Canada offering Ukraine the loan, but are calling for the government to keep pressuring Russia to back down, rather than moving to arm Ukrainians.
“This situation will only be resolved with a unified front by increasing sanctions and diplomatic pressure,” said NDP MP Heather McPherson in a statement.
Russia’s Ambassador to Canada Oleg Stepanov said in an interview on CTV News Channel’s Power Play Thursday that the threat of western sanctions in response to a military buildup along the Ukrainian border carries no weight and wouldn’t influence the country’s future actions.
Canada has imposed sanctions on more than 440 individuals and entities related to Russia dating back to Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.
Asked about Stepanov’s comments, Trudeau said that in his view, sanctions on Russia have had an impact.
“We know that the Russian people do not want to see Ukraine invaded, do not want to see deaths in a conflict that should be avoided. That's why we're calling on Russia to deescalate, calling on diplomatic conversations,” Trudeau said.
Senior officials in this country, including International Development Minister Harjit Sajjan, Defence Minister Anita Anand, and Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre, have been co-ordinating on Canada’s response.
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly travelled to Ukraine this week to discuss the situation with her counterpart, and according to the prime minister, the loan was discussed during these talks, before she continued on to meet with French and European Union allies in Paris and Brussels.
Canada has deployed a small group of Canadian special forces to Ukraine, though the government remains tight-lipped about what they are doing on the ground. As well, as part of Operation UNIFIER, Canada has approximately 200 Canadian Armed Forces members conducting training exercises in Ukraine.
With files from CTV News’ Sarah Turnbull
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Police investigating shooting outside of Drake's Bridle Path mansion: source
Toronto police are investigating a shooting that took place outside of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion early Tuesday morning, a source tells CP24.
Canadian cadets rock mullets and place second at U.S. military competition
Sporting mullets, Canadian Armed Forces officer cadets placed second in an annual military skills competition in the U.S.
'It looked so legit': Ontario man pays $7,700 for luxury villa found on Booking.com, but the listing was fake
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
The Met Gala was in full bloom with Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Mindy Kaling among the standout stars
The Met Gala and its fashionista A-listers on Monday included Jennifer Lopez, Zendaya and a parade of others in a swirl of flora and fauna looks on a green-tinged carpet lined by live foliage.
There's actually no such thing as vegetables. Here's why you should eat them anyway
The rumours are true: Vegetables aren't real — that is, in botany, anyway. While the term fruit is recognized botanically as anything that contains a seed or seeds, vegetable is actually a broad umbrella term.
Noelia Voigt resigns as Miss USA, citing her mental health
Noelia Voigt, who was crowned Miss USA in November 2023, has announced she is resigning from her role, saying the decision is in the best interest of her mental health.
Highlights from the 2024 Met Gala exhibit: Sleeping Beauty would wake up for these gowns
Sure, she was a royal princess and all. But there’s no way Sleeping Beauty — either before or after her nap — ever had quite the fabulous wardrobe that’s been assembled at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Stormy Daniels is expected to appear at Trump's hush money trial on Tuesday
Donald Trump returns to the hush money trial Tuesday facing a threat of jail time for additional gag order violations as prosecutors gear up to summon big-name witnesses including porn actor Stormy Daniels.
Israeli forces seize Rafah border crossing in Gaza, putting ceasefire talks on knife's edge
Israeli tanks seized control of Gaza's vital Rafah border crossing on Tuesday as Israel brushed off urgent warnings from close allies and moved into the southern city even as cease-fire negotiations with Hamas remained on a knife's edge.
Local Spotlight
Investigating the tale of Winnipeg's long-running mystery bookstore
Whether passionate about Poirot or hungry for Holmes, Winnipeg mystery obsessives have had a local haunt for over 30 years in which to search out their latest page-turners.
'Love has no boundaries': Sask. couple in their 90s and 80s get married
Eighty-two-year-old Susan Neufeldt and 90-year-old Ulrich Richter are no spring chickens, but their love blossomed over the weekend with their wedding at Pine View Manor just outside of Rosthern.
Twin Alberta Ballet dancers retire after 15 years with company
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
Video shows gaggle of geese stopping traffic on Highway 1 near Vancouver
A mother goose and her goslings caused a bit of a traffic jam on a busy stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway near Vancouver Saturday.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three Quebec men from same family father hundreds of children
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
Here's how one of Sask.'s largest power plants was knocked out for 73 days, and what it took to fix it
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
Quebec police officer anonymously donates kidney, changes schoolteacher's life
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Canada's oldest hat store still going strong after 90 years
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.