Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is outraged to learn that Canada continued to export $18,906,035.86 in military goods and technology to Israel in 2024, according to Canada’s newly released annual report on military exports. Despite a ‘pause’ on new export approvals in January 2024, Canada has continued to transfer weapons and components into a context of genocide at a significant rate, making 2024 the sixth-highest year on record. CJPME reiterates its call for Canada to impose a two-way arms embargo using the Special Economic Measures Act and finally bring an end to all Canada-Israel military trade.

“These numbers are incredibly damning. In the face of all the horrors we have witnessed in Gaza, Canada’s arms trade with Israel has not stopped. In fact, it has continued at historically high rates,” said Michael Bueckert, Acting President of CJPME. “Enough of these cynical ‘pauses’ and half-measures that fail to address Canada’s complicity in genocide. Prime Minister Carney must impose a full arms embargo and bring an end to military trade with Israel once and for all,” Bueckert added.

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The top categories of military goods that Canada exported to Israel in 2024 include those related to military spacecraft ($12,501,490.50) military aircraft ($2,874,794.93), bombs, torpedoes, missiles and/or related components ($2,254,085.13), while other important categories relate to vessels of war and ground vehicles.

CJPME argues that this new data exposes the weakness of Canada’s arms restrictions for Israel. With a pause on new export approvals imposed on January 8, 2024, Canada did not approve any new permits except for two (2) in the first week of the year. However, Canadians companies were still able to utilize 164 permits in 2024, putting Israel in the top five non-US destinations for utilized export military permits. This is because Canada approved a skyrocketing $28.5M worth of military export permits in late 2023, during the first months of the genocide, which were exempt from later restrictions.

CJPME emphasizes that the data in the report typically does not include weapons transferred to Israel via the United States, which is largely unregulated, unreported, and without human rights evaluations. Canada continues to export an unknown volume of military exports through this loophole. For example, a recent report discovered that a Canadian crown corporation brokered a contract for the export of $78.8M CAD in artillery propellants to the Israeli military via the US. Similarly, Project Ploughshares estimates that $120.9M CAD worth of Canadian technology has been supplied to produce F-35s specifically destined for use by the Israeli military via the US. CJPME is calling for the immediate closure of all loopholes that allow Canadian military goods and technology to reach Israel.

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