Ahead of Canada's elections, calls intensify for an arms embargo on Israel

With federal elections on the horizon, calls for a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel are gaining unprecedented momentum across Canada.

This rising movement was further fuelled by a report in late March by Kelsey Gallagher, a Senior Researcher at Project Ploughshares, which revealed that Quebec-based General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems-Canada (GD-OTS-Canada) is contracted to produce $ 55.1 million (CAD 78.8 million) worth of artillery propellants.

These propellants, Gallagher explained, are manufactured for the US, which then supplies parts to Israel, directly fuelling the war in Gaza.

“When there is no transparency, Canadians are left in the dark about our role in the world. It’s especially troubling in a crisis like Gaza, where we now know Canadian artillery propellants are being supplied to Israel - despite credible allegations of violations of international humanitarian law,” Kelsey Gallagher told The New Arab.

In early April, public outrage exploded into a mass mobilisation, with an estimated 30,000 demonstrators gathering at Parliament Hill in Ottawa. Protesters accuse the authorities of reneging on their stated commitment to halt arms exports to Israel and are calling for Canada's foreign policy, and particularly its complicity in international conflict, to become a defining issue in the upcoming election.

“Unlike many international groups, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) and other grassroots organisations are calling for a two-way arms embargo - not just to stop arms sales to Israel, but to starve its war economy as well," Alex Paterson, Senior Director at CJPME, told The New Arab.

Since the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023, more than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza. Mass protests have erupted across Canada demanding an arms embargo on Israel, fuelled by revelations that Canada's arms exports have been hidden from public view.

“We have often found out about Canada's arms dealings through US disclosures, not our own government. When the US reports military aid to Israel, it includes what they receive from Canada - information our government keeps from the public,” Paterson added.

In cities across Canada - including Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Quebec, and Waterloo - activists staged coordinated blockades targeting Canadian companies directly supporting the Israeli military. Their targets included firms like TTM Technologies, Pratt & Whitney, L3Harris, Apex Industries, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, and INKAS - corporations linked to the manufacturing of Israeli drones, warplanes, and weapons systems.

Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza has been widely characterised as genocidal by human rights groups such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and a growing number of genocide scholars.

Additionally, the United Nations experts warned that “any transfer of weapons or ammunition to Israel that would be used in Gaza is likely to violate international humanitarian law and must cease immediately”.

The international body directly named Canada as one of the several countries that continue to export military goods to Israel.

In September 2024, Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly pledged to stop Canadian arms from reaching Israel, even through US intermediaries. Yet, exports continued. Despite Canada’s obligations under the Arms Trade Treaty, this commitment doesn’t apply to the US-routed arms - a long-criticised gap in regulation.

“Due to a decade-old loophole in Canada’s arms control regime, most arms exports to the US aren’t subject to oversight. This dates back to the 1956 Defence Production Sharing Agreement, which created a pseudo free-trade zone for arms between the US and Canada. These transfers don’t require permits or human rights monitoring, unlike exports to other countries. There’s also no transparency - Canada doesn’t report them,” Gallagher explained.

In early April, although Liberal Leader Mark Carney acknowledged the Gaza crisis, he stopped short of calling it a genocide. “The situation is a horrible situation. I will not, and I will never politicise that word or this situation,” Carney said in a statement.

Paterson sharply criticised this stance. “If he’s waiting for the adjudication process to conclude, he’s clearly avoiding responsibility for addressing the genocide. This shows Mark Carney isn’t fit to lead the country - he needs to take a moral stand instead of hiding behind the International Court of Justice (ICJ) while tens of thousands of Palestinians die, with Carney dithering and waiting for the ICJ to rubber-stamp his decision.”

In February, public anger reached the doorstep of Canada’s Defence Minister Bill Blair, where more than a hundred anti-war protesters demonstrated outside his Toronto home. They shouted “war criminal!” and held banners with messages that read: “Bill Blair, you are a liar, arms embargo or you are fired,” “Made in Canada: Israeli killing machines”, and “Stop arming genocide”.

“The protests are making a huge difference and we will continue to pressurise the government, both in the streets and in the halls of power,” Paterson told The New Arab. “They talk like there is an arms embargo, but don’t act like it - and we’re here to make sure their actions match their words.”

He added: “We’re going to fight tooth and nail to ensure transparency and hold the government accountable to public opinion, which clearly opposes sending arms to Israel - directly or through the US.”

Aparajita Ghosh is a journalist based in Canada. She covers environmental justice, Indigenous rights, climate issues and social movements

Follow her on X: @_aparajitaghosh