Canada in talks to join EU's €90 billion Ukraine loan scheme
Canada is negotiating with the European Union on a possible financial contribution to the EU's €90 billion loan for Ukraine, with both sides aiming to agree on the size of Ottawa's contribution before a Canada-EU summit in Montreal at the end of October. If it joins, Canada would be only the second non-EU country, after the United Kingdom, to participate in the scheme. The talks are part of Prime Minister Mark Carney's broader push to deepen ties with Europe and reduce Canadian dependence on the United States.
Key points
- Canada and the EU aim to fix the size of Canada's contribution before the Canada-EU summit in Montreal at the end of October.
- The United Kingdom is currently the only non-EU country in the €90 billion EU loan scheme for Ukraine.
- Carney is seeking to deepen ties with Europe and reduce Canada's reliance on the United States.
- Carney and President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a 100-year Canada-Ukraine partnership declaration the previous week; Zelensky said the agreements under it exceed US$2 billion.
- Canada has already provided Ukraine with about CAD 6.5 billion (≈US$4.7 billion) in military aid and Carney pledged an additional US$270 million for interceptor missiles.
- The EU formally approved the €90 billion loan on 23 April, providing roughly €45 billion per year in 2026 and 2027, with the first €3.2 billion tranche delivered in late June.
Why it matters
If Canada joins, it would become only the second non-EU participant in the €90 billion Ukraine loan scheme, after the United Kingdom, widening the coalition of non-European states backing Kyiv's financing through the EU. The move fits Prime Minister Mark Carney's stated strategy of deepening ties with Europe and reducing Canadian dependence on the United States at a time when Ottawa-Washington trade talks have stalled. Carney's planned European trip, including meetings with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham, ties the Ukraine loan question to broader Canada-EU and Canada-UK coordination.
What happened
Canada is in discussions with the European Union about a possible financial contribution to the EU's €90 billion loan for Ukraine. Both sides want to determine the size of Ottawa's contribution before a Canada-EU summit scheduled for the end of October in Montreal. The United Kingdom is currently the only non-EU state participating in the loan scheme. Prime Minister Mark Carney plans to travel to Europe this week, including a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Strasbourg and, afterwards, with UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham in Liverpool. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is using the loan talks as part of a broader push to strengthen ties with Europe and to unite like-minded liberal states around a multilateral international order.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian-language outlets anchor the FT-sourced loan story to the 100-year Canada-Ukraine partnership that Carney and President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the previous week. Zelensky put the total value of agreements under the partnership at more than US$2 billion, including a government package of over US$1 billion covering air defence, Patriot missiles, F-16 ammunition and joint drone production. Ukrainian reporting also spells out the mechanics of the EU loan — the 23 April approval, the roughly €45 billion annual allocation for 2026 and 2027, the €30 billion/€60 billion split between budget support and military assistance, the first €3.2 billion tranche delivered in late June and the subsequent €3.9 billion for drone production — and frames Canada's potential contribution as part of Ukraine's funding pipeline for 2026-2027.
How international sources describe it
The single non-Ukrainian source, an English-language agency piece from Azerbaijan, leads narrowly on the loan talks and Carney's stated goal of strengthening support for Kyiv while deepening ties with Europe amid strained US relations. That framing is shorter and focuses on the geopolitical motivation — diversification away from the United States and building a coalition of middle or liberal states — rather than on the technical structure of the EU loan or the details of the Canada-Ukraine partnership.
Background
The EU formally approved a €90 billion loan for Ukraine on 23 April, intended to cover 2026-2027 needs but only about two-thirds of Ukraine's financing requirements in those years. The loan provides roughly €45 billion per year in 2026 and 2027, with first disbursements expected in May-June; a first €3.2 billion tranche was delivered in late June, followed by €3.9 billion for drone production. Of the total, roughly €30 billion is earmarked for budget support through existing financial aid instruments and €60 billion for military assistance; in 2026, €16.7 billion is allocated to social/budget support and €28.3 billion to defence, including a €3.2 billion procurement of US Patriot interceptors. The previous week, Carney and Zelensky signed a 100-year Canada-Ukraine partnership declaration; Zelensky said total agreements under it exceed US$2 billion, including a government package of over US$1 billion for air defence, Patriot missiles, F-16 ammunition and joint drone production. Canada has already provided Ukraine with about CAD 6.5 billion (≈US$4.7 billion) in military aid, and Carney pledged an additional US$270 million for air-defence interceptor missiles. Canada-US trade talks reached an impasse last month, with Ottawa seeking EU backing in that dispute; the EU is cautious about Canada's proposed 'associate membership' format and does not want to equate its ties with Ottawa to its Norway or Switzerland models.