Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand speaks to the press as she arrives at NATO headquarters for a NATO Foreign Affairs Ministers’ meeting on December 03, 2025 in Brussels, Belgium.
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand says the government doesn’t anticipate the military’s involvement in the Middle East conflict, and is focused on helping Canadians leave the region.
Anand made the comments as she updated reporters on travel assistance for Canadians seeking to leave the Middle East over the weekend, including charter flights, block bookings on commercial airlines, and ground transportation options.
“We are not anticipating military involvement at this time, and as I said, we have no intention to participate in Operation Epic Fury,” Anand said during the March 6 virtual media briefing.
Israel and the United States launched coordinated strikes against Iran on Feb. 28, dubbed “Operation Epic Fury” by the Pentagon, following diplomatic talks on Iran’s nuclear programs. Iran has retaliated by hitting targets in Israel as well as neighbouring nations hosting American military bases.
Anand’s comments come after Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Jennie Carignan told reporters on March 5 that Canada may consider “defence and support” options to help Persian Gulf nations being hit by Iranian strikes.
Carignan said the Canadian Armed Forces would present recommended options to Ottawa to help Gulf states ahead of a meeting with allies on March 6.
“We are not talking about participating [in] Epic Fury, per se,” Carignan said. “However, our Gulf partners may require defence and support. So within that context this would be the type of military options that we could consider.”
She also said the Gulf states must indicate “what they need,” adding that if they don’t need Canada’s help, “we won’t look at options to support them.”
Anand said the work Carignan is doing is “part and parcel of our dialogue with allies that occurs regularly.” She added that once Carignan’s discussions have concluded, she expects to have a readout and engage with Defence Minister David McGuinty about the next steps.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mark Carney said on March 5 in Australia that he can’t “categorically rule out” Canadian military involvement in the conflict in Iran, adding that Canada will “stand by [its] allies when it makes sense.”
Canada’s Response
Anand told reporters on March 6 that she would meet with her caucus colleagues later in the day to “outline the efforts that we’ve been making for many of the constituents in their ridings relating to consular supports.”
Anand was responding to a reporter who asked what she would tell her colleagues about the government’s response to the conflict, noting that Carney’s initial reaction to the Iran strikes differed from his March 3 remarks supporting the military action “with regret.”
Carney said on March 3 that while Ottawa supports “neutralizing” the threat of Iran’s regime, it does not agree with how the United States and Israel have conducted the war. He also called for a rapid de-escalation of hostilities on all sides.
Anand told reporters that “Canada has long recognized the Islamic Republic of Iran as the principal source of instability and terror in the Middle East. Despite two decades of diplomacy and [International Atomic Energy Agency] oversight, Iran has not dismantled its nuclear program or halted enrichment.”
She said Canada has taken “significant action” by declaring the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) a terrorist entity, imposing more than 500 sanctions on individuals and entities of the Iranian regime, and “coordinating pressure” with international partners.
“Let’s be clear, my purpose is, as foreign minister, to make sure that I am doing whatever possible to support Canadians in the region … and making sure that they have means to exit the region, should they wish to do so,” she said.
When asked whether Canada is looking at options for the Canadian military to help evacuate Canadians from the region, such as by strengthening air defences to make it “safer” for commercial flights to leave, or by using military flights to transport Canadians, Anand said: “We are looking at all options, period, and we want to ensure that we are moving Canadians as soon as possible.”
She said Global Affairs Canada (GAC) has been in contact with the Department of National Defence “to ensure that all options are available, should other means of leaving the region not remain viable.”
Travel Assistance Update
Anand said more than 108,000 Canadians in the Middle East have registered with GAC, including about 3,500 who asked for help in leaving the region.
Ottawa has secured a charter flight from Dubai to Istanbul that is set to depart on March 7 and will accommodate 180 Canadians, Anand said, adding that the flight is being arranged on a “cost recovery basis.”
In addition, GAC is working with Air Arabia to block book seats for Canadians on two commercial flights from Dubai to Istanbul, which are set to depart over the weekend with between 45 and 50 Canadians per flight, she said.
She also said the government has booked 200 seats for Canadians on four separate flights from Beirut to Istanbul in the coming days. If any of the seats are not used by Canadians, they will be offered to Europeans and “like-minded missions” for their staff or citizens, she said.
Anand also confirmed that Canada has four buses with 180 seats in total travelling from Qatar to Saudi Arabia starting March 7.
When asked by reporters whether Canada is considering using chartered boats to help Canadians leave the region, Anand said GAC is sourcing “all means of transportation” for Canadians to leave, but said the “seaway is always an issue and is especially dangerous at this time.”