Mark Carney and Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed the Canada-Ukraine Declaration for a 100-Year Partnership in Calgary on 10 September 2026, alongside the Joint Declaration on Enhancement of the Defence and Security Cooperation between Ukraine and Canada and a separate ministerial statement on energy. Zelenskyy arrived on 9 September with First Lady Olena Zelenska for a three-day visit, his fifth to Canada, and was due in Banff to address the Liberal cabinet the same afternoon before travelling to Toronto and North Bay ahead of a Friday departure.

"Canada is, has, and always will be a steadfast ally in Ukraine's relentless pursuit of freedom," Carney said. "Today, Canada and Ukraine forged a new partnership which will equip the Canadian Armed Forces with world-leading drone capabilities, create jobs across Canada, and support Ukraine as they fight to achieve a just and lasting peace."

"There is no qualification to our commitment," Carney said in Calgary, naming freedom, democracy and sovereignty as causes shared by both countries. "Canadians understand in our bones the importance of your struggle." Of the Ukrainian community in Alberta he said: "Ukrainians helped build this province, this country. And Canada will help rebuild Ukraine when peace comes."

Zelenskyy said the documents would produce results. "I'm happy that we signed some very important documents. It's not just documents, not papers. These documents mean the results, what we can have in our partnership," he said. "We are thankful that we have such strong partners as Canadians." Later in the visit he said Ukraine and Canada "will always be friends, and will always strengthen one another".

What the declaration commits both countries to

Three pillars organise the text: economic growth and reconstruction, defence innovation and people-to-people ties. Both governments named the elevated relationship a "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership" and instructed officials to negotiate a Strategic Partnership Agreement on those three pillars to follow the declaration. Carney and Zelenskyy dated the relationship to 2 December 1991, when Canada became the first Western country to recognise Ukraine's independence, and cited the roughly 1.3 million Canadians of Ukrainian heritage as its foundation.

Operation UNIFIER, the Canadian Armed Forces training mission for Ukrainian troops, is extended through 2029 under the defence declaration, with a shift towards air defence and interceptors. Both governments committed to a long-term defence industrial partnership covering joint production of uncrewed systems, counter-drone equipment and ammunition, building on a letter of intent signed in Kyiv on 24 August 2025. Intelligence sharing, cybersecurity, electronic countermeasures, artificial intelligence, space, biotechnology and digital governance are named in the same text.

Frozen Russian sovereign assets appear in the declaration as a source both leaders agreed to keep exploring for Ukraine's benefit, together with support for a Defence, Security and Resilience Bank. Canada also backed standing up the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine and the International Claims Commission for Ukraine, the two bodies designed to attach legal and financial consequences to the invasion. "There can be no decisions about Ukraine without Ukraine," the joint statement said.

The money announced on the day

New Canadian commitments itemised by the Prime Minister's Office come to roughly $1.06 billion, all figures in Canadian dollars:

  • $350 million for air defence interceptors through the JUMPSTART programme
  • $435 million in loan guarantees to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development for energy infrastructure, part of guarantees now totalling up to $757 million
  • $200 million in concessional loans through Export Development Canada for infrastructure and reconstruction
  • $40.1 million for a multi-donor initiative supporting Ukrainian veterans' recovery and rehabilitation
  • $23 million to strengthen Ukraine's security architecture
  • $10 million more to the Ukraine Energy Support Fund, taking Canada's contribution to $100 million
  • $6 million for the return and reintegration of unlawfully deported Ukrainian children, $2 million of it channelled through UNICEF
  • $2 million to the International Energy Agency joint work programme

Canada's cumulative assistance to Ukraine since 2022 now exceeds $26 billion, of which $8.5 billion is military. Military assistance allocated for the 2026-27 fiscal year stands at about $2 billion. Canada ranks fourth among donors in raw dollars and 12th measured against GDP. Ottawa has imposed more than 3,500 sanctions measures connected to the war, and named eight more individuals on the day of the signing over violations of Ukrainian children's rights.

"Thank you for your willingness to help find the funding necessary for the needs of the budget and our soldiers," Zelenskyy said. Canada committed in the joint statement to help identify financing for Ukraine's budget through 2026 and 2027, money Kyiv needs for salaries and procurement rather than for donated equipment.

Two thousand drones today, millions promised

"I have to confess that our Armed Forces currently have but 2,000 drones in our inventory," Carney said. "In the years to come, we will need millions."

A national digital drone marketplace for the Canadian Armed Forces, the Defence Drone Initiative Marketplace, went live with the announcement. Nearly 400 vetted Canadian suppliers are qualified on it across five capability streams covering uncrewed and counter-uncrewed systems, command and control, electronic warfare and cyber, integration and engineering services, test and training, and an experimentation lane for early-stage technology. Ottawa modelled the platform on Brave1, the Ukrainian defence-tech clearing house that pulled thousands of small manufacturers into wartime procurement, then moved from launch to first contract in 50 days.

"Today's contracts will increase the number of drones available to the CAF tenfold," Carney said. "Importantly, one-third of all the drones we manufacture will go to support Ukraine's defence of its homeland." Carney said the $50 million first tranche was "merely the first step toward our goal of ensuring Canadian industry has the capacity ... to produce millions of drones over the next two years".

Six firms across five provinces took the first contracts. Beonyx of Saguenay, Quebec supplies the VTSE-TC uncrewed ground vehicle, designed and built entirely in Canada. AVSS, with sites in Fredericton and Carp, Ontario, provides the AVSS Drone D1 for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, using predominantly Canadian components. Volatus Aerospace manufactures the Huntsman X6 in Montreal. Draganfly of Saskatoon builds the Astiia system in Canada under licence from an Australian designer. Objexis AI of Oakville, Ontario supplies the MAQ-C, Canadian-designed with domestically developed software. Twenty20 Insight of Ottawa delivers the XRC RHINO ground vehicle with Canadian service and support.

Volatus disclosed the shape of its award the same day: 100 tactical intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft in the first order, options for up to 4,900 more over five years, inside a $25 million ceiling that caps each system at $5,000. Deliveries begin in the fourth quarter of 2026. "Canada is seeking sovereign, secure and supportable defence technologies that can be fielded efficiently," said Glen Lynch, the company's chief executive.

Draganfly qualified across all five streams on 28 August 2026. "Draganfly has spent more than 25 years developing drone technology in Canada, and we believe the opportunity for Canadian-developed systems has never been greater," said Cameron Chell, its chief executive.

Two further pots back the manufacturing base: $105 million over three years for a national Drone Innovation Hub covering research, development and commercialisation of Canadian drone and counter-drone technology, and $29.6 million over two years for the Uncrewed Systems Defence Innovation Secure Hub at Mirabel, Quebec.

Ukrainian designers, Canadian factories

General Dynamics Mission Systems-Canada is developing drones with the Ukrainian company Green Tech Harvest, one of several pairings that bring Ukrainian designers into Canadian production rather than leaving them to sell into the market from abroad. Airlogix of Ukraine and Sentinel R&D of Canada signed an arrangement at CANSEC in Ottawa on 29 May 2026 to build Ukrainian-designed uncrewed aircraft on Canadian soil for Ukraine's armed forces.

"Our main intention is to provide effective systems as fast as possible to the Armed Forces of Ukraine," said Dmytro Piatrin, chief commercial officer at Airlogix. Kath Intson, chief executive of Sentinel R&D, said her company's "approach to this project is rooted in a position of support, humility, and genuine desire".

Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, called Canada a warmonger over the Airlogix arrangement at a press briefing on 10 June 2026 and said she would publish the Ontario company's address. Defence Minister David McGuinty answered that Canada expected the criticism. "We would expect to see the Russians to be critical, because they don't appreciate the fact that NATO is coming together to assist a country that's in need," he said, adding that Canada would "continue in steadfast support of our Ukrainian colleagues".

Interceptors, Patriots and pilots

Canada joined FREYJA, the European anti-ballistic missile programme originated by the Ukrainian company FirePoint to build a cheaper alternative to American Patriot interceptors. Norway, Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom are the other participants, making Canada the tenth. "Mark assured me that Canada is ready to join our European FREYJA anti-ballistic programme with its technologies," Zelenskyy said. "This is a necessary and timely step. There will also be additional defence supplies."

Patriot missiles and F-16 ammunition are in the package alongside the interceptor money, and Canada will train 21 Ukrainian pilots on combat aircraft. "This will be a substantial reinforcement, together with other countries that are, at various stages, training our people on combat aircraft," Zelenskyy said. Of the air defence money he said: "Today, there is a significant decision from Canada. A very important aid package for air defences." He returned to the point later: "This is crucial. This is a big deficit in the world. We are thankful for this."

Ballistic missile defence was the vulnerability Zelenskyy named on arrival in Canada, as Russian long-range missile and drone attacks continued through the week. He told reporters that diplomacy itself draws fire. "Knowing Russia, when they hear that we have somewhere negotiations, with Europeans, with Canadians, with Americans, when they hear, they try to intensify attacks on us, just to break any kind of negotiations," he said.

What Canada gets out of it

Ottawa achieved the NATO two per cent of GDP defence spending target in March 2026 and has committed to five per cent by 2035. The federal budget carries an $81.8 billion defence investment. Canada's first Defence Industrial Strategy, launched in February 2026, projects 125,000 high-paying jobs, $80 billion of spending over five years, $180 billion in defence procurement over the decade and $290 billion in defence and security-related infrastructure across the same period, with $125 billion in downstream economic benefits.

Sector projections attached to that strategy have defence revenues rising 220 per cent and defence exports rising 50 per cent, with small and medium-sized businesses reaching $4.5 billion in annual defence revenue. A Defence, Security and Resilience Bank headquartered in Canada accounts for 3,500 of the projected jobs. "In this century, the work of defending Canada is the work of building Canada," Carney said when he launched the strategy.

Purchasing now goes through a domestic marketplace, and production lines are being stood up in Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick. Canadian firms get volume, revenue and battlefield feedback that no test range generates, from a customer that consumes drones by the thousand every month. "Drones will be at the forefront" of Canada's military support for Ukraine, Carney said.

What Ukraine gets out of it

Ukraine's defence industry has grown from about $1 billion in output before the full-scale invasion to more than $50 billion, with surplus capacity in some sectors as high as 50 per cent above what the front consumes. Zelenskyy opened controlled arms exports in April 2026 under the Drone Deal programme, which bundles drones, air defence, electronic warfare, training and shared production lines into long-term partnerships instead of one-off sales. Ten-year agreements are already in place with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. At least 10 export contracts are planned across the Gulf, Europe and the Caucasus.

Canada signed the first document finalising a Drone Deal with Ukraine in Calgary. "In particular, our teams are currently working on the Drone Deal," Zelenskyy said, adding that a full agreement was close. "This will give us greater capacity to finance Ukraine's defence, and give Canada new technological capabilities." Export earnings recycle into Ukraine's own procurement, which matters more each month that direct budget support from allies becomes harder to secure.

Trade between the two countries has grown under a modernised free trade agreement in force since 1 July 2024, which the leaders agreed to expand. Canadian merchandise exports to Ukraine reached $556.1 million in 2025, led by armoured fighting vehicles and parts, coal and firearm parts. Ukrainian exports to Canada were $250.7 million, led by natural uranium, telecommunications equipment and sunflower seeds and oils. Canadian direct investment stock in Ukraine stood at $93 million in 2024, a figure the reconstruction financing announced this week is designed to move.

Energy, uranium and the Alberta connection

Tim Hodgson, Canada's Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, and Denys Shmyhal, Ukraine's First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy, signed the energy statement in Calgary. Long-term liquefied natural gas supply agreements from Canada to Ukraine are encouraged in the text, which points to Ukraine's underground gas storage capacity, among the largest in Europe, as a regional asset worth defending and filling.

Energoatom and Cameco hold a partnership securing Ukrainian uranium supply through 2035. Both governments committed to modernising Ukraine's domestic uranium mining and processing and to cooperation on advanced reactors. The $200 million concessional trade finance envelope through Export Development Canada is aimed in part at hydroelectric infrastructure, which Ukraine needs for grid balancing after four years of Russian strikes on generation and transmission. A memorandum of understanding signed earlier in 2026 brings provinces, territories and private firms into the reconstruction work. Critical minerals cooperation was covered in a separate commitment signed the same day.

People, children and prisoners

Ukraine joins Canada's electronic travel authorisation regime, easing travel for Ukrainians and for the 1.3 million Canadians who trace their heritage there. A second international conference on forcibly transferred Ukrainian children and prisoners of war will be held in Toronto on 28 and 29 September. The $40.1 million veterans initiative funds recovery and rehabilitation for Ukrainian soldiers returning from the front, a population Ukraine will be supporting for decades.

"We are grateful to Canada, to Canadians, and to Prime Minister Mark Carney for standing with Ukraine," said Anna Tselukhina of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress in Calgary. "The presence of President Zelenskyy in Canada is an important reminder of the strong friendship and partnership between our two countries."

Sanctions announced on the day of the signing named eight individuals connected to violations of Ukrainian children's rights.