FIRST EDITION
Canada's 100-year bet on Ukraine
What a century-long promise delivers now, and what stays on paper.
The story so far.
Ukraine's President Zelenskyy came to Canada in September and signed a 100-year partnership declaration with Prime Minister Carney: air-defence money, winter energy loans, and a plan to build millions of drones with a third pledged to Ukraine. The declaration records intentions; the binding pieces are separate contracts and loans, and delivery timelines are unpublished. Watch September 28 and 29, when Toronto hosts a conference on bringing home Ukraine's deported children.
A little background
This is the newest chapter of a relationship that began in 1991, when Canada became the first Western country to recognize Ukraine's independence, and that has included troop training since before Russia's 2022 invasion. Follow the September 2026 visit: what was signed, what each announced dollar actually does, and the Toronto conference scheduled for late September.
Where things stand
As ofCanada and Ukraine signed a 100 Year Partnership Declaration in Calgary on September 10, alongside money for air defence and winter energy and a plan to co-produce drones. The declaration records intentions, and each announced measure moves on its own timeline. The nearest scheduled test is a Toronto conference on September 28 and 29 on returning Ukraine's deported children.
- Signed is not delivered
- The package announced September 10 mixes instruments: interceptor money spent through a US program, loan guarantees that unlock other lenders, and loans to be repaid. None of it is equipment already in Ukraine, and no delivery dates have been published.
- The drone plan is a goal with scaffolding
- Contracts worth up to $50 million and a new supplier marketplace exist now. Capacity for millions of drones within two years is a stated goal, starting from a fleet of about 2,000, with one third of future production pledged to Ukraine.
- The children file has a date attached
- Sanctions on eight officials in the deportation system and up to $6 million for returns lead into the Pathways to Peace conference. So far 2,573 of 20,651 recorded children have come home, and the count of records is itself a minimum.