Prime Minister Mark Carney and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a 100 Year Partnership Declaration in Calgary on September 10, 2026, setting out their intention to elevate the relationship between Canada and Ukraine into a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
The leaders recalled that Canada was the first Western country to recognize the restoration of Ukraine’s independence on December 2, 1991, and noted that more than 1.3 million Canadians of Ukrainian heritage sustain the bond between the two peoples.
In a joint statement, the leaders condemned in the strongest terms what they called the illegal, unprovoked and unjustifiable war of aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine, describing it as a manifest violation of the Charter of the United Nations and an assault on Euro-Atlantic security. They paid tribute to the courage of Ukraine’s people and its defenders.
Both leaders underscored the importance of Ukraine’s continued reform efforts in support of its path toward full European Union and NATO membership, and reaffirmed that Ukraine’s security is integral to Euro-Atlantic security.
Canada will continue to meet Ukraine’s most pressing military needs and sustain Operation UNIFIER, now extended to 2029, with a particular focus on air defence capabilities and interceptors, while continuing training, equipment, ammunition and other military support. The two countries also agreed to deepen cooperation in intelligence, cyber defence, and countering hybrid threats, and to establish a long-term defence industrial partnership for the joint production of uncrewed systems and ammunition.
Canada and Ukraine will also expand trade and investment under a modernized Free Trade Agreement and work with the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to support Ukraine’s economic stability and reconstruction.
Canada and Ukraine, along with Norway, are convening a second conference on September 28-29 in Toronto to enhance efforts to secure the return of forcibly transferred and deported Ukrainian children, unlawfully detained civilians and prisoners of war.
The leaders also agreed to launch a multi-donor initiative supporting the rehabilitation, reintegration and economic participation of Ukraine’s veterans and their families, and committed to strengthening people-to-people ties through cooperation in education, youth exchanges, culture, sport and health.
