Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada will continue to build up its military might in the coming years, in part so it's able to play a role in providing security guarantees for Ukraine.
Carney is in Paris meeting with Ukraine's allies to discuss the role Canada might play in securing an eventual ceasefire in the war with Russia.
At a news conference at the Canadian Embassy on Tuesday, Carney said the negotiations on peace and security guarantees for Ukraine are "90 per cent of the way there," according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is also in Paris.
Carney said the remaining parts of a potential peace deal will need to be negotiated by Ukraine, Russia and the United States.
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The prime minister said Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East and peace missions, and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and former senior adviser will be attending.
A senior government official briefing reporters on the plane to Paris said Canada has been in talks for months about making an "appropriate and serious contribution" to Ukrainian security guarantees, and Ottawa's recent push to ramp up defence spending has set the country up to play a bigger role in transatlantic security.
"We've been building that bench, and we're going to continue to build that bench," Carney told reporters Tuesday.
"The largest military buildup in generations coming over the course of the next five years, an additional $80 billion of investment, in part because of issues like this."
Speaking in French, Carney said sending Canadians troops to Ukraine was a "possibility."
He said Canada would be part of a possible "multilateral force" of other Ukrainian allies with additional backstops from the Americans.
"That means that our contribution has a much bigger effect than obviously we would if we were on our own," Carney said.
He said Canada's contributions could start with continued training, as Canadian soldiers are currently training Ukrainian forces in Poland as part of Operation Unifier.
Other support could come in the form of logistics, cybersecurity aid and weapon production.
The "coalition of the willing," a group of more than 30 countries pledged to support Ukraine, is gathering in Paris as ceasefire talks reach a critical juncture.
Carney said Gen. Jennie Carrigan, chief of Canada's defence staff, has been in talks with her counterparts in the coalition for months to shape Ukraine security guarantees, and now the leaders are gathering to finalize those plans.
Carney is meeting with a number of world leaders, including Mark Rutte, secretary-general of NATO, and heads of state from Denmark and Finland.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 6, 2026.
