Prime Minister Carney says Canada will build up military to support peace in Ukraine

Canada will continue to build up its military might, in part to be able to play a role in providing security guarantees for Ukraine, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday ahead of a meeting with allies in Paris.

"We've been building that bench, and we're going to continue to build that bench," Carney told reporters Tuesday.

"The largest military buildup in generations coming over the course of the next five years, an additional $80 billion of investment, in part because of issues like this."

Speaking in French, Carney said sending Canadians troops to Ukraine was a "possibility" but said initial contributions could start with training. Canadian soldiers are currently training Ukrainian forces in Poland as part of Operation Unifier.

Other support could come in the form of logistics, cybersecurity aid and weapons production.

Carney said Canada would be part of a possible "multilateral force" of other Ukrainian allies, with additional backstops from the Americans.

"That means that our contribution has a much bigger effect than obviously we would if we were on our own," Carney said.

Carney was in Paris to attend a meeting of the "coalition of the willing," a group of about 30 nations looking at what they can do to help secure a long-term peace for Ukraine in the war with Russia.

At a news conference at the Canadian Embassy before that meeting, Carney said the negotiations on peace and security guarantees for Ukraine are "90 per cent of the way there."

That reflects comments also made earlier this month by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is also in Paris.

Carney said the remaining parts of a potential peace deal will need to be negotiated by Ukraine, Russia and the United States. 

The prime minister said Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East and peace missions, and Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law and former senior adviser, will be attending the talks in Paris.

A senior Canadian government official briefing reporters on the plane to Paris said Canada has been in talks for months about making an "appropriate and serious contribution" to Ukrainian security guarantees. They said Ottawa's recent push to ramp up defence spending has set the country up to play a bigger role in transatlantic security.

Representatives of the "coalition of the willing," a group of more than 30 countries pledged to support Ukraine, are gathering in Paris as ceasefire talks reach a critical juncture.

Carney said Gen. Jennie Carrigan, chief of Canada's defence staff, has been in talks with her counterparts in the coalition for months on shaping Ukraine security guarantees, and now the leaders are gathering to finalize those plans.

The Department of National Defence confirmed Carignan participated virtually on Monday in a meeting of defence chiefs of coalition countries, ahead of Tuesday's meeting of leaders.

Carney also met Tuesday with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, who said he admired how Canada is stepping up to support Ukraine with equipment and financial assistance.

Rutte also praised Canada for taking a leadership role in the defence of the Far North, where he noted Russia and China have been "active."

Carney spoke Tuesday about the importance of scaling up Canada's military to defend the wider Arctic region. He referred to Greenland and the Arctic as the "western flank" of NATO.

"With our buildup that's just beginning of our military capabilities, we are making heavy investments in the Arctic," he said.

Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi