Carney facing calls to send humanitarian aid to Cuba

The federal government is being called on to send aid to Cuba in the wake of tightening restrictions against the Caribbean island nation by the United States.

Mexico sent two naval vessels 800 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Cuba last week. The shipments included essential food items as well as personal hygiene products.

The federal New Democrats say Canada should follow suit. Last week in the House of Commons, NDP interim leader Don Davies urged the government to provide support to Cuba. In an email to National Post on Wednesday Davies recalled a statement in Prime Minister Mark Carney’s recent World Economic Forum speech urging middle powers not to stay silent in the face of “economic intimidation.”

“In my view,” he said, “this means calling out superpower intimidation consistently, whether it is Russia, China or the U.S.”

He argues that the American embargo against Cuba “is illegal, and Canada has consistently voted against it at the UN. My call for aid to Cuba is consistent with that long-standing position.”

However, he says he has “not had any response from PM Carney. This, in addition to Mr. Carney’s lack of action thus far, is evidence his Davos speech was more rhetoric than reality.”

Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet told the Canadian Press that he raised aid for Cuba in a meeting last week with the prime minister . “I asked the prime minister to follow Mexico’s example and come to the aid of the Cuban people, whose living conditions are rapidly deteriorating due to the American embargo,” Blanchet said.

Instead of focusing on aid, Global Affairs Canada has advised Canadians to avoid non-essential travel to Cuba due to shortages in fuel, electricity, food and medicine. The federal department notes that 7,200 Canadians were registered in the country as of early February 2026. As a result, it is focused on their safety and facilitating their return home.

The Cuban government has warned international airlines that they can no longer refuel at the main airport in Havana due to the American blockade of incoming oil.  Commercial airlines, including Air Canada , have suspended their flights. Instead, the airline is sending empty flights to Cuba to retrieve the 3,000 customers that are there. It will tanker extra fuel on those trips to ensure enough fuel for the return flights.

Global Affairs confirms this: “Canadian airlines will facilitate the return of their clients currently in Cuba and are reaching out directly to them. Confirm your return flight details and avoid extending your stay in Cuba. If you do not have a return ticket, seek a commercial option to leave the country. Commercial flights remain available through international airlines; however, they may become limited on short notice.”

Cuba has cited the adverse impact of the fuel shortage in recent weeks as stemming from the U.S.’s January take-over of Venezuela’s oil reserves . For example, large tourist resorts have shut down .

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened tariffs against any country selling or providing oil to Cuba .

The fuel dilemma adds to several decades of sanctions that the U.S. has maintained against Cuba. That is a policy Canada has never replicated , instead preferring to maintain trade ties, no matter whether the Liberals or Conservatives were in power. Canada is the only major country in the Americas other than Mexico that maintained ties with Havana after the 1959 communist revolution, despite American pressure.

National Post has reached out to the Prime Minister’s Office as well as the Leader of the Opposition and Blanchet for further comment, but has not received any responses from them.

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