Canadian veteran known as ‘Canadian Dave’ released by Taliban months after arrest

The former Canadian soldier who helped dozens flee during the fall of Kabul has been released from the Taliban.

David Lavery, a former Canadian Armed Forces soldier, has been safely flown out of Taliban hands, as a Qatari official confirmed he landed in Doha.

Lavery, known as Canadian Dave, helped more than 100 people flee Afghanistan during the fall of Kabul. He was picked up by the Taliban Nov. 11, shortly after he landed in the country. His whereabouts were unknown for several weeks, as family and colleagues worked to find him.

“We are overjoyed and relieved now,” says Tim Laidler, Afghan Support Director with the Veterans Transition Network (VTN), a Vancouver-based charity working with the Canadian government. Lavery was working for VTN when he disappeared.

“Dave was going there on behalf of Canadians, on behalf of VTN to support Afghan migrants make it safely to Canada,” says Laidler in an interview with CTV News.

The circumstances of his detention and his release are not clear for now.

“He had a valid visa, everything was above board,” Laidler said. “We were quite shocked that he wasn’t able to leave, wasn’t able to make communication.”

Lavery spent years travelling in and out of Afghanistan, where he operates a private security company called Raven Rae Consulting Services.

Lavery was one of the only Canadians on the ground at Hamid Karzai International Airport in August 2021 when the U.S. military withdrew from Afghanistan. Embassy staff had already fled the country on evacuation flights, and it would be another four days before Canadian Forces would arrive to help.

Lavery was given a list of more than 1,000 people trying to seek refuge in Canada. His team’s mission was to help extract those with valid Canadian documentation amid the crush of people who flooded the security perimeter outside the airport.

Those trying to flee to Canada were told to wear red and look for a man named “Canadian Dave.”

“Canadian Dave was a hero,” Laidler said. “He put himself in harm’s way to go help Afghan migrants he had never met, to help them have a better life in Canada. But unfortunately, him and his family had to endure hardship for others. All Canadians should be proud there are people like Dave out there willing to do this.”