Canada’s defense minister confirmed the termination of a contract to supply Ukraine with renovated light armored vehicles during a House of Commons committee session. The Department of National Defense provided 25 retired troop carriers to Armatec Survivability in Dorchester, Ontario, for refurbishment nearly two years ago. This initiative, led by the defense department, aimed to support Ukraine in countering Russia’s invasion with necessary weaponry.
The Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC), responsible for negotiating defense contracts, was handling the agreement estimated at up to $250 million. The project was included in the CCC’s quarterly report until recently, when it was unexpectedly removed. Prior to the official announcement, details about the contract’s status were undisclosed by the defense department and CCC.
Defense Minister David McGuinty revealed the cancellation of the contract with the company, but refrained from elaborating on the reasons behind the decision during the committee meeting. Despite inquiries, CCC cited commercial confidentiality obligations for not providing information on the Armatec deal.
McGuinty declined to disclose the rationale for the contract termination but emphasized that Canada had previously supplied Ukraine with new armored combat vehicles. The initial plan, unveiled by former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to Ottawa two years ago, involved providing both new and refurbished troop carriers. The fate of the vehicles intended for refurbishment remains uncertain.
Armatec had developed a prototype vehicle for the Ukrainian project featuring enhanced weaponry and crew protection mechanisms, utilizing an innovative yet proven restoration process, as stated in the company’s promotional materials. Conservative defense critic James Bezan criticized the government’s decision to withdraw from the deal at a time when Ukraine urgently requires armored vehicles to replace combat losses.