CHELSEA, Que. — Stephen Harper is set to send another signal of support to the embattled government of Ukraine as he meets with that country's prime minister.
Harper and Arseniy Yatsenyuk are expected to sign a trade deal, although details of the agreement have not yet been divulged.
A spokesman for the prime minister says Harper sees the deal as another opportunity to build relations between Canada and Ukraine and to create jobs.
Canada's trade with Ukraine was worth $244 million last year, down from $322 million the previous year and less than the $400 million in low-interest loans Canada has provided to Ukraine since a political crisis erupted there in 2013.
Canada has concluded free trade agreements with 39 countries since 2006, most notably with the countries of the European Union, although details of the Canada-EU tentative deal have yet to be finalized nearly two years after it was announced.
Harper spokesman Stephen Lecce says the two leaders will also discuss Ukraine’s efforts to combat aggression by Russia's Vladimir Putin in eastern Ukraine.
Yatsenyuk visited Washington yesterday where U.S. Vice President Joe Biden warned the Ukrainian government to start actively curbing corruption.
Yatsenyuk next heads to Britain after his stop in Canada.
