The Maple has spent the past 22 months paying close attention to Canadian military exports to Israel and the Liberal government’s misleading and sometimes outright false comments on this issue.
Unlike the United States, Canada does not donate military aid to Israel. However, private companies can sell military goods to Israel by applying for an export permit from the federal government.
Canada is a signatory of the Arms Trade Treaty, which is enshrined in the Export and Import Permits Act. Under this law, Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs must not approve export permits for military goods if there is a substantial risk the goods could be used to facilitate serious human rights abuses or violations of international law.
Most exports to the United States, however, do not require a permit. Some Canadian goods sold to the U.S. may be transferred or redirected to other countries — including Israel — through military aid or Foreign Military Sales.
Since Oct. 7, 2023, and despite some restrictions, Canadian companies have continued to sell military goods directly to Israel. Some companies have also been named in U.S. military contracts that identify Israel as an end user of the goods.
Below is a condensed timeline of those exports and the Liberal government’s deceptive attempts to make this scandal disappear.
2012-2022 | Canadian Arms Exports to Israel Surge Tenfold In 10 Years
Between 2012 and 2022, direct Canadian military exports to Israel massively increased. In 2021, Canadian companies sold a high of $26 million of goods to Israel — more than 10 times the value of goods sold annually at the beginning of the decade. These exports continued despite repeated warnings from human rights groups about Israel’s actions, including reports that concluded Israel maintains a system of apartheid over Palestinians — a crime under international law. Israel also launched regular attacks on Gaza, which human rights groups often refer to as “the world’s largest open-air prison.”
October 2023 | Israel Begins Assault On Gaza
Following the Hamas-led attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, Israel launches a brutal assault on Gaza. Within days, scholars and human rights activists warn that Israel’s war has the hallmarks of a genocidal campaign.
Activists call for greater transparency regarding Canada’s military exports to Israel and renew demands for an immediate embargo. As a signatory of the Arms Trade Treaty, Canada is obliged to block arms exports if there is a substantial risk they could be used to commit serious rights abuses.
December 2023 | First Misdirection On Arms Permits
Officials in the Trudeau government begin what will be a series of misleading statements regarding military exports to Israel. On December 6, an assistant deputy minister tells a standing committee in Parliament that no new arms export permits to Israel have been authorized since October 7, and that no Canadian goods are being used in Gaza.
A spokesperson from Global Affairs Canada then tells The Maple that no new permits for “full weapon systems” to Israel have been authorized. But the vast majority of Canadian military exports are for components, not full systems. Activists accuse the Trudeau government of deliberately sowing confusion.
January 15, 2024 | First 100 Days of Massacre
In late December, South Africa submits its case to the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of committing a genocide in Gaza.
By the 100th day of its attacks, Israel has killed over 24,000 Palestinians, leading the United Nations to suggest the war on Gaza could be the “twenty-first century’s deadliest 100 days.” By now, Canada has voted for a UN motion calling for a ceasefire, but has not publicly declared any intention to block military exports to Israel.
Justin Trudeau also gives confusing remarks about the genocide allegation against Israel, stating that his government does not accept the premise of South Africa’s case.
January 30, 2024 | Trudeau Government Admits It Authorized New Exports
After weeks of questions from The Maple and human rights activists, the Trudeau government now admits it has authorized new military export permits to Israel since October 7.
Global Affairs Canada claims the goods are all “non-lethal,” a term that has no legal definition in Canada’s export control regime. Nonetheless, the term “non-lethal” becomes central to the government’s talking points on the issue.
Meanwhile, a report from Project Ploughshares warns about the “grave risk” of Canadian exports fuelling Israel’s assault. The report draws particular attention to goods shipped via the United States and Canadian components in the American-made F-35I fighter jet, which Israel has used to bomb Gaza.
February 10, 2024 | The Maple Obtains Data Showing $28.5 Million In New Permits
The Maple obtains export data through an access to information request showing that the Trudeau government authorized $28.5 million in new military export permits to Israel during the first two months of Israel’s war on Gaza.
The permits were authorized quickly, with one processed within four days of the application being submitted. One was authorized on December 6, the same day an assistant deputy minister told a Parliament committee that no new arms export permits had been authorized. The revelations spark outrage, and calls for an embargo grow louder.
February – March 2024 | Protests and Political Pressure
Over the next month, activists organize protests and blockades at buildings belonging to arms companies across Canada.
In Parliament, the opposition NDP and Green Party demand answers from the government, which sticks closely to its previous talking points about the exports.
Some Liberal MPs begin to break ranks, and call for an arms embargo on Israel. A committee in Parliament orders Global Affairs Canada to release 18 years of documents regarding Canadian military exports to Israel.
Feb–Mar 2024 | Legal Challenges Underway
Meanwhile, a legal challenge against the Liberal government’s authorizations of military exports to Israel is underway (a second one is filed in November), and United Nations experts release a statement calling on all countries — including Canada — to stop arms exports to Israel. The pressure becomes impossible for the Liberal government to ignore.
March 18, 2024 | Parliament Votes to End Arms Exports to Israel
An unnamed source tells the Toronto Star that the Liberal government stopped authorizing new military export permits to Israel on January 8.
Then, on March 18, Parliament passes a watered down and non-binding motion that, among other demands, calls for an end to the “further authorization and transfer” of arms exports to Israel. But it is quickly revealed that this pause will not apply to permits authorized before January 8. In other words, some military exports to Israel will be allowed to continue.
Much of what you see in this timeline comes directly from The Maple’s reporting. We broke the first discovery that Canada was approving these military exports, and since then we’ve kept uncovering new fragments of the scandal.
We’ve published more than a dozen investigations on this issue. Filed countless access-to-information requests. And months of follow-up work. It’s slow, costly reporting — but it’s the only way to get answers.
March 2024 | Pause Does Not Apply To Arms Purchases
It is also clear that the Liberal government will continue to buy weapons from Israeli arms companies. The Department of National Defence (DND) is going ahead with plans to buy $43 million of a type of Israeli missile flagged by human rights groups over its use in Israel’s past and present bombing campaigns in Gaza.
In April, The Maple reports that DND will host trial sessions for Israeli arms technology used to kill Palestinians and maintain apartheid during a three-week “sandbox” event in Alberta.
April 1, 2024 | Israel Kills Canadian Veteran And Aid Worker in Gaza
On April 1, Israeli forces deliberately kill seven World Central Kitchen aid workers in Gaza. One of them, Jacob Flickinger, was a Canadian citizen and military veteran.
The Israeli missile used to kill the aid workers, the Spike LR2, is the same type of munition that the Canadian army has announced it plans to buy. The Department of National Defence tells The Maple it is “deeply concerned” by Israel’s attacks on the aid workers, but says it has no plans to review the purchase. To date, Israel has killed at least 408 aid workers in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023.
June 2024 | 2023 Export Report Shows Record Sales
Global Affairs Canada publishes its annual report on military exports, showing that Canadian companies sold $30.6 million of goods to Israel in 2023 — the highest annual total on record.
Israel was the non-United States destination with the highest number of military export permits utilized by Canadian suppliers for that year.
The Liberal government continues to push its legally hollow claim that all exports authorized after Oct. 7, 2023 are “non-lethal.” Two weeks after the report is published, Justin Trudeau falsely tells a member of the public that his government has stopped military exports to Israel.
July 2024 | Existing Permits Left $94M Loophole
Meanwhile, documents released by Global Affairs Canada (GAC) to Parliament show that valid export permits authorized before the January 8 pause could be used to sell Israel up to $94.5 million of military goods by the end of 2025. Most of the permits are for shipping goods to Israeli arms companies, and arms monitors warn some of the goods could end up in the hands of the Israeli military. GAC redacts other details about the goods authorized for sale.
Summer 2024 | Death Toll Hits 40,000 – Aid Groups Renew Embargo Calls
Public demands for a full, two-way arms embargo on Israel — including goods shipped via the United States and those authorized under existing export permits — are growing louder.
A coalition of peace groups and labour unions have launched a campaign called “Arms Embargo Now.” Amid the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, aid groups also renew their calls for a complete embargo. By mid-August, Israel has killed at least 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza, most of them women and children.
August 2024 | The American Loophole
The Maple reports that the United States government named a Quebec-based company — General Dynamics - Ordinance and Tactical Systems Canada — as the principal contractor in a “possible” $83 million sale of high-explosive mortar cartridges and related equipment to Israel. The announcement highlights another glaring loophole in the Liberal government’s supposed pause on new military exports to Israel that activists have warned about for months. It also flies in the face of the government’s claims that only “non-lethal” goods are being sold to Israel.
September 2024 | Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly Responds
Despite initially claiming that concerns about the potential sale were “not based in fact,” Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly indicates her office is in contact with the company in order to block the sale.
She also reveals for the first time that Global Affairs Canada has suspended “around 30” of at least 210 existing military export permits to Israel over the summer, and is adamant that even exports shipped via the United States will be stopped. However, her statement also gives the first indication that only goods the government believes could be used in Gaza are subject to the export pause.
Video credit: Canadian Public Affairs Channel (CPAC)
Early 2025 | New U.S. Contract Comes To Light
Justin Trudeau steps down as prime minister, and Mark Carney takes his place after winning the Liberal Party leadership election. A federal election is called for April 28, 2025.
In the midst of the campaign, the arms monitoring group Project Ploughshares reveals that a Crown corporation — the Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC) — signed a contract to supply the United States with up to $78.8 million in artillery propellants manufactured by GD-OTS, some of which will be shipped to Israel. The contract was signed on Sept. 26, 2024, two weeks after Mélanie Joly suggested she was intervening to stop the mortar cartridge sale.
Amid confusing denials from federal officials and a CCC spokesperson, there is to date no evidence that this contract has been cancelled.
April 2025 | The Iron Dome Exception
At a Liberal Party election rally in Calgary, Alberta, a protester heckles Mark Carney, saying there is a genocide happening in Gaza. Carney replies: “I’m aware. That’s why we have an arms embargo.”
After the event, however, Carney backtracks his apparent recognition that Israel is committing a genocide, insisting that he “didn’t hear that word.” Carney then reveals for the first time that goods for Israel’s Iron Dome missile defence system are exempt from the Liberal government’s pause on military exports to Israel.
April 2025 | Starvation And Slaughter
During this period, the sheer brutality of Israel’s war on Gaza intensifies. Israel has imposed another total blockade on food and aid from entering Gaza, and the United Nations warns that the humanitarian crisis inside the besieged enclave has reached unprecedented levels.
With Israel regularly attacking tent camps for displaced people, the total death toll in Gaza has now surpassed at least 51,000 people. Almost every major international human rights organization now publicly recognizes that Israel is committing a genocide.
In May, the U.S.-Israeli backed “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF)” takes over aid distribution in Gaza. Starving Palestinians are regularly shot at and killed at GHF-run sites.
June 2025 | $18.9 Million In Military Exports
Amid rising horror and outrage at Israel’s brutal conduct, Global Affairs Canada quietly publishes its annual report on military exports under a new and obscure title. The report shows that permits authorized before the January 8 pause were used to ship a total of $18.9 million of military goods directly to Israel in 2024.
In total, 164 export permits were used by Canadian companies to ship military goods to Israel, making it the third-most popular non-United States destination for Canadian suppliers that year. The report does not provide data about goods sold or transferred via the U.S.
June-July 2025 | $37.2 Million In New Exports — And A New Message
Around this time, Global Affairs Canada (GAC) also changes its public messaging. Previously, it said no new export permits had been authorized since Jan. 8, 2024.
Now it says no new permits for goods “that could be used in the current conflict in Gaza” have been authorized.
Through an access to information request, The Maple reveals that the Liberal government authorized two new permits worth a combined total of $37.2 million on February 28. GAC later confirms that these permits are for goods related to the Iron Dome. Human rights activists point out the Iron Dome allows Israel to commit acts of aggression without fear of serious retaliation, and enables it to inflict massive civilian casualties at a scale that dwarfs its own losses.
July 2025 | Arms Embargo Now Report
On July 29, 2025, World Beyond War, the Palestinian Youth Movement, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East and Independent Jewish Voices publish a report that reveals damning new details about direct Canadian exports to Israel.
Using shipping records and Israeli Tax Authority data, the report identifies hundreds of shipments, including some that are categorized by the Israeli government as parts for weapons and ammunition. The information challenges the Liberal government’s insistence that no goods that could be used in Gaza are being shipped from Canada to Israel.
After the report is released, 173 former Canadian diplomats sign an open letter calling for a full arms embargo.
August 2, 2025 | Foreign Minister Anand Replies
Days later, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand issues a statement calling the report “flawed” and disputes three claims — including one that the report never made. However, her statement does not deny that other military exports to Israel are continuing, as shown by public data, export permits released by Global Affairs Canada and shipments exposed in the report. The authors of the report accuse Anand of deceiving Canadians about the reality of Canada’s ongoing arms trade with Israel.
August 2025 | The Exports Continue
Despite the claimed pause on shipments of goods that the government believes could be used in Gaza, Canada is continuing to sell military goods to Israel. The Arms Embargo Now coalition recently organized a protest in Repentigny, Quebec, outside the facility of a company they said was due to ship cartridges to Israel.
Meanwhile, Israel continues to slaughter and starve Palestinians as it prepares to escalate its military campaign and displace even more civilians. There is an overwhelming consensus among human rights groups and scholars that Israel is committing a genocide, and polling shows a majority of Canadians recognize this reality.
There is no indication that the Liberal government plans to change its military export policy.
