MONTREAL — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Aug. 23-27 working trip to Europe — with stops in Poland, Germany, Latvia and Ukraine — demonstrated his Liberal government aims to advance its position as an imperialist world power. It goes alongside the Canadian rulers’ boost in military spending and other preparations for wars to come.
The importance the rulers attach to the trip was underscored by the fact that Defense Minister David McGuinty accompanied Carney. Except for annual NATO summits, the head of the Canadian Armed Forces rarely joins the prime minister on trips like this. Carney repeated his pledge to quadruple military spending in Canada over the next decade to 150 billion Canadian dollars ($109 billion) a year. If carried out, Canada would reach NATO’s goal of military spending totaling 5% of the country’s gross domestic product.
Carney started his trip with an unannounced visit to Kyiv to join Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the country’s Independence Day Aug. 24. Carney said Canada will always stand with Ukraine “in the face of the Russian aggressor.”
He promised Ottawa will provide Ukraine with new drones, armored vehicles and munitions as part of a CA$2 billion aid package. And he said he hasn’t ruled out deploying Canadian troops in Ukraine if an open-ended ceasefire is reached with Moscow.
In Poland, Carney signed a defense and energy partnership with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Carney announced Canada looks to play a prominent role at the 2026 defense industry expo there. Ottawa hopes to profit from increased war spending by capitalist governments in Europe. Poland’s rulers, for example, raised their military budget 31% this year.
While in Germany, Europe’s largest economy, Carney toured the ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems shipyard. He has announced the German company is a finalist in bidding to build new submarines for Canada, as Ottawa expands its fleet.
As Moscow’s murderous war on Ukraine is in its third year, with no end in sight, leaders in the European Union are moving to massively rearm. And they’re pushing to strengthen their ability to compete with Washington as the Donald Trump administration continues to mount tariffs against them. The Canadian rulers and their government see openings for trade, military deals and profitable investment.
In Latvia, the final stop on this trip, Carney announced Ottawa will maintain troops stationed in Latvia until 2029, as part of the 14-nation NATO Reassurance mission. Canada, which commands this operation, has 2,000 troops in Latvia — Ottawa’s largest overseas deployment.
Canada rulers prepare for war
“The imperialist rulers in Canada are preparing for new wars to protect their class interests at home and abroad. Our campaign calls for the withdrawal of all Canadian forces from Europe, and no new deployment to Ukraine!” Katy LeRougetel, Communist League candidate for mayor of Montreal, told the Militant.
“The most important ally of the Ukrainian toilers’ fight for sovereignty are Russian working people, who hate the repression and war the Vladimir Putin regime is prosecuting,” she said.
“As the Canadian government steps up its preparation for wars abroad to protect the interests of Canadian capitalists, it is stepping up attacks on working people here in Canada for the same reason,” added Philippe Tessier, CL candidate for mayor of Saint Leonard, a borough in Montreal. He is a rail worker and member of the Teamsters union. “The Liberal government used the Emergencies Act in 2022 against the truckers’ protest in Ottawa. It has used hated anti-labor laws four times in the last year to stop strikes by postal, port and rail workers, and Air Canada flight attendants, who defied the government, setting an example for workers everywhere.
“The CL is presenting a road forward for working people to build a leadership for our class to end capitalist rule and establish workers power — the only way to stop the march to a new world war,” Tessier said.