Canada Accelerated Secret Weapons Shipments to Israel, Contrary to Previous Commitment to Halt Exports
Canada continued to export military goods to Israel in 2024, despite publicly claiming a pause, according to a 2025 report titled "Exposing Canadian Military Exports to Israel." The report, which documents at least 47 shipments from October 2023 to July 2025, accuses Canada of violating both domestic and international law by fueling a war that has claimed the lives of over 60,000 Palestinians, nearly half of them children.
The covert flow of military goods included over 421,000 bullets and critical components for the F-35 jet, which Israel used to obliterate civilian "safe zones." The F-35 jet cannot conduct air strikes without Canadian parts, and these components were among the secretly exported items.
The Canadian government secretly fast-tracked hundreds of military shipments to Israel between October 2023 and July 2025. Many of these components were destined for Elbit Systems, Israel's largest weapons firm. Canada played a role in supplying parts for Lockheed Martin's F-35 jets, which Israel used in its military operations.
The report reveals that while the Canadian government publicly stated it had suspended permits and stopped new authorizations for arms exports to Israel since January 2024, data show only about 30 permits were suspended out of hundreds authorized. Shipments continued under previously issued permits or with reclassified items, such as cartridges labeled as “non-lethal training materials.”
Israel remained Canada's fourth-largest military customer in 2024, with $13.8 million in authorized transfers. Three Canadian firms - Stelia Aerospace, CMC Electronics, and Nexeya - were identified as critical suppliers of F-35 components worth $2.1 million per jet.
When pressed about how it ensures exported weapons are not used in Gaza, the Canadian government cited "commercial confidentiality." This has led to criticism that the government is engaging in systematic deception. Amnesty groups and NGOs call for a complete arms embargo and immediate cancellation of all active export permits, highlighting Canada's complicity in ongoing violence.
Yara Shoufani of the Palestinian Youth Movement stated that allowing Canadian manufacturers to send weapon components to Israel's largest weapon manufacturer, Elbit Systems, should raise alarms. Global Affairs Canada admitted it only suspended 30 permits while allowing hundreds more to proceed, despite Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly's pledge to halt arms exports to Gaza.
The shipments included cartridge parts, navigation sensors, radar systems, GPS antennas, and other components. Rachel Small of World Beyond War stated that the report reveals systematic deception, making Canada directly complicit in what scholars and organizations agree is a genocide. The report demands an immediate two-way arms embargo, the cancellation of all active permits, and an end to indirect U.S. transfers.
- The covert deception surrounding Canada's military exports to Israel is under scrutiny, with reports alleging secret shipments continue to fuel a conflict that has taken over 60,000 lives, mostly children, in breach of both domestic and international law.
- Despite the Canadian government's claim of a policy pause on military exports to Israel since January 2024, it is accused of engaging in politics that favor war-and-conflicts, with only about 30 permits having been suspended out of hundreds authorized, while many more continued under different labels or with previously issued permits.
- General-news and crime-and-justice organizations have demanded an immediate change in policy-and-legislation, calling for a complete arms embargo and the cancellation of all active permits due to Canada's complicity in ongoing war-and-conflicts and alleged genocide.
