Understanding Canada's Defence and Security Policy in the Middle East

Since the end of World War II in 1945, Canada, which became a member of NATO when it was established in April 1949, has defined its foreign defence and security policy as being almost completely aligned with NATO policies in the subregion. While Ottawa was already in favour of the creation of the State of Israel in 1948 and a two-state solution to the Israeli Palestinian conflict, Canadian officers served in the very first peacekeeping mission of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) along the Israeli Arab borders in the Golan Heights. In November 2025, the Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney made a visit to the region that could be described as strategic in this context of redefining alliances and counterbalancing hegemonic powers worldwide. Drawing on a timeline that may have been artificially reconstructed, we will examine the dynamics of Canada’s defence and security policy in the Middle East, and more specifically in the Arabian Gulf, from a diachronic perspective. The methodological framework adopted for this research combines two major approaches. Initially, the historical method was used to ensure continuity and coherence across the phenomena, by drawing on a time frame that may be artificially reconstructed. It enabled us to examine the dynamics of Canada’s defence and security policy in the Middle East from a diachronic perspective. We also developed the analysis of the data relating to the history of Canada’s defence policy in the Middle East through a comparative variation approach. It consisted in highlighting differences and special cases in order to foster a more ‘comprehensive’ understanding. of this defence and security policy in the Middle East.

An indirect and significant contribution to the geostrategic issues in the Middle East during the 19th century.

At the time a British Dominion, Canada provided financial, logistical and human support for Britain’s global imperial expansion, particularly in the Middle East. The government of the Canadian conservative Prime Minister John A. Macdonald (1867–1873) institutionalised the financing of Britain’s imperial expansion and organised logistical and military support to the British Crown. Such assistance positioned Canada as an ‘external actor’ and, moreover, as jointly responsible for the security and military dynamics of the British government in the Middle East. In the 19th century, when almost the entire Middle East was under Ottoman control, the empire benefited, both strategically and militarily, from multidimensional support from Great Britain, particularly against the territorial ambitions of France and Russia in the region. For the British Crown, the Ottoman Empire provided direct access to the route to India, Britain’s privileged partner since the founding of the East India Company in 1600. As an ‘external actor’, Canada became involved from the second half of the 19th century in the security and geostrategic dynamics of the Middle East, providing direct financial, material and military assistance as directed by the Canadian Conservative government of John A. Macdonald. This support clearly contributed to the establishment of several advanced military posts along a well-defined route spread across the Ottoman Empire. These military posts would later contribute to the fall of the Ottoman Empire, notably through the capture of Jerusalem, Baghdad and the Suez Canal towards the end of the 19th century.

1947: the creation of the State of Israel, a consciously assumed position. 

Canada’s direct involvement in the two World Wars shaped its position and influence on the international stage. However, it was Canada’s diplomatic stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from 1947, and on the security and military crises that followed, that would immediately define Ottawa’s foreign policy in the Middle East.  

After the Second World War, on 29 November 1947, the United Nations General Assembly approved the partition of Palestine, which was then under British mandate. The plan provided for the creation of two states, one Jewish and the other Arab, allocating 55% of the territory to the Jewish state. The plan was accepted by the Jews, but not by the Palestinians or their Arab neighbours. This peace plan would be officially supported by Canada. The milestones for the creation of a Palestinian state, as proposed by the United Nations, are embedded in Canada’s foreign policy in the Middle East. The Arab states in the region could thus rely on at least the unofficial support of Ottawa in the establishment and recognition of Palestine, but not at the expense of Israel. This situation exacerbated tensions that would lead to a succession of wars between the Arab states and Israel. In implementing this peace plan, Canada provided troops to the United Nations Truce Supervision mission (29 May 1948), which from 1 June 1954 were stationed in several Middle Eastern countries, including Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria. This official stance adopted by Ottawa concretely defined Canada’s defence and security policy in the Middle East: A quasi-total and absolute alignment with the resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council. Since the end of the Second World War in 1945, Canada has undertaken several military operations in the Middle East. Under the auspices of the United Nations, Canadian troops maintained a visible and active presence in the region. Within the framework of military observation, interposition and peacekeeping missions, although conducted under United Nations mandates, Canada has acted directly as an “external actor” in the conflict-driven social and security dynamics of the Middle East. With observation and interposition military posts distributed across several territories in the Middle East since 1954, and with command over several large-scale UN operations, Canada has become a central actor in the region’s security affairs. These multiple military presences of Ottawa have undoubtedly enabled it to build a significant strategic database on the security and geopolitical issues that have marked the history of the Israeli-Arab conflict. Although Ottawa’s diplomatic and military deployment in the Middle East has unfolded neither hastily nor under the glare of the spotlight, it is clear that Canada’s quasi-permanent military operations under United Nations auspices since 1954 have become a determining factor in the web of alliances and counter-alliances among the belligerents in these conflicts. These operations have consistently supported Israel and its allies in the region, a pattern that has persisted since the creation of the State of Israel in May 1947.

The Gulf War: A Major Operation 

Between 1990 and 1991, as part of the international coalition of countries that came together to combat the Iraqi invasion and occupation of Kuwait, over 4,000 Canadian Armed Forces personnel were deployed to the Gulf region. This constituted the largest deployment of the Canadian Armed Forces abroad since the Second World War (1939–1945). A summary of the facts and figures of these operations is necessary here to grasp the scale of this Canadian military operation conducted over 10,000 km from its borders: ‘‘The fact that Iraq possessed chemical and biological weapons, as well as large missiles that could be used to attack neighbouring countries, made the entire region very tense in 1990–1991. The peak number of Canadian Armed Forces members in the Persian Gulf region at one time was some 2,700 personnel. The Canadian Naval Task Group-consisting of the destroyers HMCS Terra Nova and HMCS Athabaskan, and the supply ship HMCS Protecteur – helped support the coalition fleet efforts in the region. Five Sea King helicopters with No. 443 Squadron were also part of this force. CF-18 jet squadrons with approximately 500 personnel operated out of the ’Canada Dry’ bases in the Persian Gulf nation of Qatar, performing combat air control, escort and reconnaissance missions. For the first time since the Korean War, Canadian air-to-surface attacks took place during the conflict. The Canadian Air Command’s Transport Group carried personnel and cargo in the region. One of the Canadian planes was used in aerial refuelling duties for coalition air forces. A Canadian field hospital with 530 personnel was established in Al-Qaysumah, Saudi Arabia in February 1991. This hospital cared for both Coalition and Iraqi wounded. Soldiers from units like the Royal Canadian Regiment and the Royal 22^e Régiment performed security duties at Canadian installations in the Middle East in 1990–1991.’’ Though Canada joined a 35-country, American-led multinational Coalition to restore freedom to Kuwait, functioning under the mandate of a United Nations (UN) resolution that approved the use of force, Operation Desert Shield saw the build-up of Coalition forces in the Gulf region. What does this imply with regard to the geostrategic stakes in the region? It is worth noting that this Canadian operation, referred to as Operation Friction, contributed to the consolidation and expansion of Ottawa’s military presence in the Middle East. The operation further aimed to support regional partner states that were members or supporters of the international coalition, such as Israel and Qatar, which benefited from the military infrastructure established under Operation Friction, to the detriment of other Middle Eastern states, thereby potentially disrupting already fragile regional balances.  Operation Friction highlighted what many saw as inconsistency in the Canadian government’s regional policy. While it adopted a firm position in one case, it did not apply the same standard to Israel, despite Israel’s repeated breaches of United Nations resolutions relating to its occupation of the Palestinian territories in the West Bank, the Golan Heights on the Syrian border, and parts of southern Lebanon.

Canada in the aftermath of 11 September 2001: Counter-terrorism efforts

The Iraq War, also known as the Third Gulf War, constitutes one of the major events that decisively marked the dawn of the twenty-first century. Everything appears to have been set in motion after 11 September 2001, when the United States was struck by one of the most shocking catastrophes in its history. The United States embarked on a politico-military programme known as the Global War on Terror, aimed at curbing terrorist intentions and activities across the globe. The Canadian government, faithful to its foreign policy and more specifically to its Middle East policy, which closely aligns with United Nations resolutions, opposed any military operation in Iraq driven and supported by Washington. Although Ottawa committed itself to the fight against terrorism, Canada did not participate in the American-British coalition in Iraq. However, Ottawa continued to maintain its military personnel and operational framework in the region as part of United Nations operations.

In 2014, thousands of Canadian soldiers were deployed to the Middle East as part of a joint operation with NATO allies to counter Daesh (the Islamic State armed group), which controlled extensive areas of Iraq and Syria. Known as Operation Impact, Canada’s participation included fighter jets, transport and surveillance aircraft, soldiers and special forces helicopters, a field medical hospital, and hundreds of military trainers working alongside Iraqi, Jordanian, and Lebanese troops. This involved the deployment of nearly 800 soldiers to the region. This Canadian contribution, in addition to combating the Islamic State, also sought to undermine the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad, on the one hand, and to support Syrian rebels on the other. Canada thus became de facto involved in the internal affairs of a state in the name of counter-terrorism. As part of the NATO mission in the region, Operation Impact indirectly extended to combat Hezbollah and Hamas, considered allies of the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad. Following these developments, Canada shifted from being an “external actor” to a co-belligerent in the fight against Daesh in Syria, within a coalition whose members did not necessarily pursue the same objectives. 

In January 2024, Canada supported American-British strikes against the Houthi forces in Yemen, conducted in the Red Sea. Although, according to the Canadian government, this assistance was limited to “planning” and “monitoring,” Ottawa effectively consolidates its role as a co-belligerent in the region’s ongoing military conflicts.

In addition to the highly controversial arms shipments to Israel since its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip in response to the 7 October 2023 attacks, the Canadian government, in support of the armed forces of several countries in the region, finances a number of peacekeeping and stabilisation programmes. Canada is investing CAD 16.6 million in six projects aimed at supporting local peacekeeping efforts, the protection of rights, and accountability in Syria, as well as assisting reconstruction, demining, and the restoration of essential services for local communities in Iraq. Through the Counter-Terrorism Capacity Building Programme and the Middle East Strategy, Canada has committed more than CAD 21.7 million to nine initiatives in the Middle East and Central Asia to support the global fight against terrorism and violent extremism.

Export value of (non-U.S. destined) military goods and technology: percentage by region in 2023

Source: Canadian Government website

According to the latest figures, Canada’s exports of military equipment and technologies to the Middle East totalled CAD 1,027,669,621.63 in 2023. This represents nearly half of Canada’s total military exports worldwide, which amounted to CAD 2,143,422,892.03.

Value of military goods and technology exports to Middle Eastern states in 2023

 Source: Data compiled by the author, Canadian Government Website

The aforementioned data from the Canadian government reveals that the Middle East ranks among the key regions globally where Canada exports weapons alongside its ongoing military activities.

Conclusion

Canada’s defence and security policies in the Middle East date back to the second half of the nineteenth century. Initially, this took the form of indirect assistance through support to the British Crown, which maintained strategic military positions via outposts across the Ottoman Empire to secure the route to India. After the two World Wars, Canada became increasingly involved militarily through peacekeeping operations under the auspices of the UN and NATO. Ottawa also focused these policies on the export of military goods and technologies to several countries in the region. All of Ottawa’s defence and security policies in the Middle East have helped shape the scope of its involvement, whether direct or indirect, in the multiple security crises affecting the region: From monitoring the truce between Israel and its neighbours, to the Gulf War (1990–1991), the fight against the Islamic State and the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime along with its allies Hezbollah and Hamas, the supervision of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, and the campaign against the Houthis in Yemen, Canada has been heavily engaged in security issues in the Middle East. Canada’s permanent military operations in the region since 1954 have influenced Middle Eastern security dynamics, positioning the country as an ‘external actor’ in social and security affairs, while in specific armed conflicts, such as the Syrian civil war up to the fall of Bashar al-Assad, it has assumed the role of a co-belligerent.