Joly says Canada is interested in ‘being involved’ in Ukraine’s security after war

OTTAWA — Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said Tuesday she wants Canada to play a role in keeping the peace in Ukraine after Russia’s war ends.

“We want to be part of these conversations regarding security guarantees,” Joly told a virtual news conference from Brussels.

“We want to be part of conversations linked to more Canadians being involved in protecting Ukraine.”

Joly is wrapping up visits to France, Germany and Belgium that she said have been focused on defending Canadian jobs and shoring up Canada’s defence.

Joly and other federal ministers launched a diplomatic blitz in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s repeated threats to hit allies with tariffs and withhold military co-operation.

Joly said the continent isn’t fully aware of the risks Trump’s policies pose for Canada.

“It was necessary for me to be in Europe to tell them exactly what’s going on, to make sure that we would co-ordinate on any form of response to tariffs and that we would be together, defending our national security and sovereignty,” she said.

Joly’s visit to the continent came after Trump pledged to hold talks with Russian officials on ending the war in Ukraine – which started with Moscow’s 2014 invasion and escalated to a full-scale war almost three years ago.

Joly said Canada continues to ask the U.S. to include Ukrainian officials in those talks, after Washington suggested Ukraine will lose territory and cannot be part of the NATO military alliance. Trump’s officials have also sent mixed messages about whether U.S. troops might help to enforce a peace deal.

“We can’t let Russia go unchecked,” Joly said, arguing that ending the fighting on Moscow’s terms would only encourage Russia to further destabilize Europe.

“Many Canadians have been inspired by what is going on in Ukraine, because we know they’re fighting for the right reasons.”

Talks have continued for months between Canada and the European Union on a security and defence partnership. It would be similar to pacts Brussels signed with Japan and Korea covering joint naval exercises, and with countries outside the EU regarding underwater infrastructure.

Joly said the negotiations between Brussels and Ottawa “are going at a good pace.” She said that any agreement likely would focus on “defence procurement and also being able to share more intelligence and information,” given that Canada and many EU members are already part of the NATO military alliance.

She said that while Europeans are receptive to the idea of closer ties with Canada, many don’t fully grasp how the Trump administration is challenging Canada’s economy. That was Joly’s answer when asked why few national leaders have spoken out against Trump’s threats against Canada.

“Based on my conversations with many European colleagues, many of them are not necessarily completely aware of what is going on, first in the U.S. and secondly in Canada. Every country in the world is looking at its own reality,” she said.

“I think that it was a wake-up call, for Europeans to hear what we’re going through.”

Joly also added that she did not raise Trump’s comments about Canada being absorbed by the U.S. with Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a meeting with G7 colleagues in Germany. She said she did respond when some U.S. senators “were making jokes about it” on the sidelines of a summit in Munich.

“I said it’s not funny. And this is a question of respect of our country, respect of our leaders, and respect of our people. And I always answer the same thing, which is (that) we will be the best neighbour, the best allies — but we will never be a state and we’ll never be a colony,” she said.

“Canadians are proud people, a courageous people, and they don’t accept any form of rhetoric that is against our own identity as a country.”

Joly is heading to South Africa for a meeting of G20 foreign ministers, where she will try to determine how Canada’s position chairing the G7 might reflect the priorities of the larger G20 group.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 18, 2025.

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press