Canada sending 4 battle tanks to Ukraine, maybe more later: Anand
Canada sending 4 battle tanks to Ukraine, maybe more later: Anand
Canada is sending four combat-ready battle tanks to Ukraine and will be deploying "a number" of Canadian Armed Forces members to train Ukrainian soldiers on how to operate them.
Defence Minister Anita Anand made the announcement on Thursday alongside Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre, vowing that in addition to the initial four Leopard 2 tanks, Canada may send additional tanks at a later date.
Canada's delivery of the tanks will take place "in the coming weeks," while the provision of trainers, as well as spare parts and ammunition, is pending co-ordination with allies, said the defence minister. The training will be done in a third country.
"These heavily armoured and highly protected vehicles provide soldiers with a tactical advantage on the battlefield, thanks to their excellent mobility, their firepower and there's their survivability," said Anand, who was in Ukraine to meet her counterpart last week. "These tanks will allow Ukraine to liberate even more of its territory and defend its people from Russia's brutal invasion."
The federal government's decision comes after days of dodging questions about whether Canada would be joining several other allied nations who have already responded to Ukraine's request for Western battle tanks.
Ukraine has been asking allies to offer up these military vehicles to assist its now nearly year-long defence against Russia, though the call has prompted concerns around escalating the conflict.
Asked how he'd respond to suggestions that providing battle tanks is an escalation, Eyre said if Russia wants to de-escalate, "they can leave Ukraine."
CANADA'S MOVE FOLLOWS INTERNATIONAL PRESSURE
On Wednesday, after increasing pressure, Germany and the United States announced they would be organizing the shipment of dozens of Leopard 2 tanks, The Associated Press has reported. And, after Poland called on the German government to permit other countries–such as Canada–who have purchased these German-made military vehicles to follow suit, Berlin green-lit re-exporting the tanks.
Ahead of Anand's announcement, Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki called on Canada to join them.
"It is very important that the free world is in full solidarity supporting Ukraine," Morawiecki said in an exclusive interview with CTV News Channel’s Power Play. "Modern tanks are very important, extremely important on this battlefield in Ukraine. So I do hope that Canada is going to be even more generous in Canadian supplies for Ukraine."
Russia has responded to the news of a coalition of Western countries supplying these tanks to Ukraine by launching a new wave of attacks, according to The Associated Press.
WHAT EXACTLY IS CANADA SENDING?
The Canadian Armed Forces currently has 82 German-made Leopard 2 battle tanks in three variants and in various states of serviceability. These include 42 Leopard 2A4s, 20 Leopard 2A4Ms, and 20 2A6Ms.
It is the Leopard 2A4s variety that Canada is sending, the same as a number of allied countries including Poland.
"We have used them for training but also many countries in the world have used them for training as well," said Eyre, calling them "much, much better" than the tanks Russia is using.
Eyre said that for weeks the Canadian military has been making plans for how to transport these tanks to Ukraine, telling reporters that Canada's C-17 Globemasters will "probably" be used, carrying one tank per flight.
"So, the effort to get those over is going to be something serious," he said.
Anand defended the limited initial donation, saying that the number Canada is sending was "carefully considered" to ensure that domestic readiness is maintained and that the military remains able to meet its NATO commitments.
"Given the complexity of operating these tanks, it is more important than ever, that we co-ordinate our efforts tightly. Tanks are not easy to maintain, but their sustainment will be essential to Ukraine's overall success and victory," Anand said. "This is the type of approach we are taking collectively with our allies, ensuring that we have a platform of vehicles that will be important for their readiness."
Facing questions throughout the week on whether Canada would be willing to send any tanks to Ukraine, federal officials pointed to the more than $1 billion in military assistance Canada has provided Ukraine since February 2022 and said that in order to get to peace, allies needed to continue to arm Ukraine.
"This donation combined with the contributions of allies and partners will significantly help the armed forces of Ukraine as they fight heroically, to defend their nation's freedom and sovereignty," Anand said.
TANKS TO UKRAINE A 'GAME CHANGER'
Reacting to the news, Ukrainian Canadian Congress national president Alexandra Chyczij applauded Canada's decision to join the international coalition of allies sending tanks to Ukraine, calling this latest tranche of military aid a "game changer."
"Battle tanks play a fundamentally different role than the armored personnel carriers that Canada had sent previously," defence analyst David Perry of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute told CTV News.
"They have a much larger gun on them than in a lot of other cases, so they can they can pack a bigger punch. The tank treads that they have also allow them to go places that wheeled vehicles can't. And the other thing is, they're designed to withstand more incoming fire."
"It certainly gives Ukraine the offensive capability to start to push the Russians back," said retired major-general David Fraser in an interview on CTV News Channel, calling the decision an "escalation of capabilities" both from a tactical and political point of view.
"And when you add that to the $2.5 billion that the Americans have already given them in equipment, they should actually have the offensive capability in the spring to actually deliver the Russians a serious blow," Fraser said.
With files from CTV News' Annie Bergeron-Oliver, Mike Le Couteur, and Vassy Kapelos
Correction
This story has been corrected to reflect that Anand met with her Ukrainian counterpart last week.
U.S. President Joe Biden heads north next week for his first visit to Canada as president. Ahead of the visit, both countries are laying out a wide range of potential topics spanning from migration policy to continuing support for Ukraine.
More than 130,000 people have signed an e-petition calling on Canada to give transgender and non-binary people fleeing harmful laws in their home countries the right to claim asylum, but that's already possible in this country. Advocates say the popularity of the proposal shows politicians that Canadians want the government to affirm its welcoming position.
The Public Order Emergency Commission has concluded that the federal government met the threshold for invoking the Emergencies Act to bring an end to the 'Freedom Convoy' protests and blockades.
The federal government is pledging to increase health funding to Canada's provinces and territories by $196.1 billion over the next 10 years, in a long-awaited deal aimed at addressing Canada's crumbling health-care systems with $46.2 billion in new funding.
Governor of the Bank of Canada Tiff Macklem says he thinks Canada is 'turning the corner' on inflation, but he isn't ruling out that the country could enter a 'mild recession.' In an English-language broadcast exclusive interview with CTV National News Ottawa Bureau Chief Joyce Napier, Macklem encouraged Canadians to prepare a 'buffer' to withstand 'tougher times.'
Joe Biden comes for a sleepover next week to make Canada the 18th country he has visited since being sworn in as U.S. president, quite the protocol slippage from that fading, if not forgotten, tradition of Canada being the first foreign presidential pitstop, writes Don Martin in a column for CTVNews.ca.
After weeks of refusing to look further into foreign election interference, Justin Trudeau surrendered to intense pressure and appointed a 'special rapporteur' to review China's actions. In his exclusive column for CTVNews.ca, Don Martin writes this 'startling change of heart' suggests the PMO is in panic mode and reflects badly on the prime minister's decision making.
The Trudeau tipping point is within sight. The moment when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau knows he has to quit for the good of the party or the Liberals realize they can't survive re-election with him at the helm is almost upon us, Don Martin writes in an exclusive column for CTVNews.ca.
Bombshell revelations that suggest Chinese agents actively, fraudulently and successfully manipulated Canada's electoral integrity in the last two federal elections cannot be dismissed with the standard Justin Trudeau nothing-to-see-here shrug, Don Martin writes in his exclusive opinion column for CTVNews.ca.
The chances Trudeau's health-care summit with the premiers will end with the blueprint to realistic long-term improvements are only marginally better than believing China’s balloon was simply collecting atmospheric temperatures, Don Martin writes in an exclusive column for CTVNews.ca, 'But it’s clearly time the 50-year-old dream of medicare as a Canadian birthright stopped being such a nightmare for so many patients.'
Amid renewed questions over the pervasiveness of alleged interference by China in Canadian elections and affairs broadly, opposition MPs voted Thursday afternoon to affirm a parliamentary committee's call for the federal government to strike a public inquiry.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he feels it is his role to see the Safe Third Country Agreement upgraded, in order to make sure Canadians can continue to have confidence in Canada's immigration system.
Zellers has opened the first of 25 new locations within Hudson's Bay stores across the country. The Canadian retail chain launched 12 stores in Ontario and Alberta Thursday, along with a new e-commerce website.
Embattled South Carolina Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom will resign next month after a US$3.5 billion accounting error in the year-end financial report he oversaw.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) arrested an 18-year-old man from the Saint-Laurent borough of Montreal on Thursday morning in connection with allegations of terrorism.
The largest recorded earthquake in Alberta's history was not a natural event, but most likely caused by disposal of oilsands wastewater, new research has concluded.
For the first time, autism is being diagnosed more frequently in Black and Hispanic children than in white kids in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.
At least one National Hockey League team with a Russian player has decided against wearing special warmup jerseys to commemorate Pride night, citing an anti-gay Kremlin law that could imperil Russian athletes when they return home.
The largest recorded earthquake in Alberta's history was not a natural event, but most likely caused by disposal of oilsands wastewater, new research has concluded.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) arrested an 18-year-old man from the Saint-Laurent borough of Montreal on Thursday morning in connection with allegations of terrorism.
Zellers has opened the first of 25 new locations within Hudson's Bay stores across the country. The Canadian retail chain launched 12 stores in Ontario and Alberta Thursday, along with a new e-commerce website.
Neurodivergent education expert Mary Klovance says there are several approaches educators can take to help students with such conditions as ADHD and autism to flourish in the classroom.
The Manhattan district attorney investigating Donald Trump rebuffed U.S. House Republicans' request Thursday for documents and testimony about the case, dismissing it as an "unprecedented inquiry" with no legitimate basis.
A top Russian security official warned Thursday about the rising threat of a nuclear war and blasted a German minister for threatening Russian President Vladimir Putin with arrest, saying that such action would amount to a declaration of war and trigger a Russian strike on Germany.
Some thrill seekers describe bungee jumping as a near-death experience, but few come quite as close as one man who managed to survive his cord snapping in Thailand.
Chinese diplomats expressed their strong opposition to an expanded United States military presence in the Philippines in closed-door talks with their Filipino counterparts Thursday in Manila, a Filipino official said, underscoring the intense U.S.-China rivalry in the region.
Embattled South Carolina Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom will resign next month after a US$3.5 billion accounting error in the year-end financial report he oversaw.
The Arizona Supreme Court has declined to hear most of Republican Kari Lake's appeal in a challenge of her defeat in the governor's race but revived a claim that was dismissed by a trial court.
Amid renewed questions over the pervasiveness of alleged interference by China in Canadian elections and affairs broadly, opposition MPs voted Thursday afternoon to affirm a parliamentary committee's call for the federal government to strike a public inquiry.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he feels it is his role to see the Safe Third Country Agreement upgraded, in order to make sure Canadians can continue to have confidence in Canada's immigration system.
Beijing says it has nothing to say about ongoing allegations that China has meddled in Canadian affairs, including those regarding a member of Parliament who resigned from the Liberal caucus.
For the first time, autism is being diagnosed more frequently in Black and Hispanic children than in white kids in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.
Canada's race to procure ventilators for COVID-19 patients in the early days of the pandemic had researchers, scientists, industry and a notable astrophysicist working 'night and day' to design machines that could be quickly manufactured domestically.
Neurodivergent education expert Mary Klovance says there are several approaches educators can take to help students with such conditions as ADHD and autism to flourish in the classroom.
Former U.S. president Donald Trump getting gang-tackled by riot-gear-clad New York City police officers. Russian President Vladimir Putin in prison greys behind the bars of a dimly lit concrete cell.
U.S. lawmakers grilled the CEO of TikTok over data security and harmful content Thursday, responding skeptically during a tense committee hearing to his assurances that the hugely popular video-sharing app prioritizes user safety and should not be banned.
Sky-gazers will be treated to a parade of planets near the end of month when Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, Uranus and Mars will appear together in the night sky.
A neuropsychologist who treated the man suing Gwyneth Paltrow over a 2016 ski collision cast aspersions on the testimony of medical experts hired by the celebrity's legal team -- and argued that, as his personal doctor, she was better suited to speak about 76-year-old Terry Sanderson's post-concussion symptoms.
Strength in the technology sector helped lead a broad-based rally as Canada's main stock index gained more than 100 points in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets also surged higher.
Neurodivergent education expert Mary Klovance says there are several approaches educators can take to help students with such conditions as ADHD and autism to flourish in the classroom.
Nancy Rose is the creator behind the "The Secret Life of Squirrels" – a series of children’s books and calendars capturing real-life squirrels engaging in human activities.
World Athletics has banned transgender women from competing in elite female competitions if they have gone through male puberty, the sport's governing body said on Thursday.
More than 50 current and former Canadian fencers have joined a growing call for a Canadian judicial inquiry on maltreatment in sport, saying the fear of retribution has kept them silent for nearly 20 years on fencing's toxic culture and abusive practices.
California lawmakers on Thursday will vote on whether to allow penalties on oil companies for price gouging at the pump, a first-in-the-country proposal aimed at stopping the kind of spikes last summer that caused some drivers pay up to US$8 per gallon as the industry reaped super-sized profits.
The Chevrolet Camaro, for decades the dream car of many teenage American males, is going out of production. General Motors, which sells the brawny muscle car, said Wednesday it will stop making the current generation early next year.
U.S. auto safety regulators are investigating complaints from Honda Civic drivers that their steering can stick, causing a momentary increase in effort and increasing the risk of a crash.
