Canada, Ukraine sign declaration for 100-year partnership

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a declaration Thursday for a 100-year partnership.

Carney said at a news conference in Calgary after a signing ceremony that the agreement looks beyond the war in Ukraine toward long-term cooperation.

"President Zelensky and I have just signed a declaration for 100-year partnership," he said, adding that in the coming months the two countries would "codify a long-term framework for cooperation across defense and security, trade and investment, reconstruction, energy, critical minerals and technology."

Noting Calgary's ties to Ukraine, Carney said more than 350,000 Canadians of Ukrainian descent live in Alberta, including 70,000 in Calgary. He pointed to the city's innovative companies and institutions such as the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology.

Describing the war as being at a turning point, Carney said Ukraine is now "neutralizing aerial threats from more than 600 kilometers (373 miles) away, while Russia relies on authoritarian regimes to refuel its war machine."

He said drones would be central to Canada's defense rearmament, the largest in 70 years, as it works to "build Canada strong, Canada safe, Canada secure."

Saying that Canada's armed forces currently hold roughly 2,000 drones, he said, "In the years to come, we will need millions," and noted the government launched the Defense Drone Initiative earlier this year to expand domestic manufacturing for the Canadian Armed Forces and Canadian Coast Guard.

He also announced a national drone marketplace connecting military units directly with nearly 400 Canadian suppliers, part of a plan to build capacity to produce millions of drones within two years. "Today's contracts will increase the number of drones available to the cap tenfold," he said.

Carney said Canada and Ukraine also finalized a deal to deliver air defense interceptors through the US Jumpstart mechanism, a "$350 million equipment package" aimed at protecting Ukraine.