Canada's plan to donate refurbished armour to Ukraine appears to be on the scrap heap

The vehicles remain stuck in bureaucratic and collective limbo — even out though the section of subject Defence delivered the decommissioned vehicles to an Ontario-based accompany for reconstruction almost two years ago.

The fate of the restoration contract, publicly acknowledged around Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s high-profile visit to Ottawa and believed to be worth between $150 million and $250 million, yet is now shrouded in secrecy.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau acknowledged at the time that in addition to supplying brand-new light armoured vehicles, his government was "working with Canadian industry to provide Ukraine with refurbished Canadian Armed Forces armoured vehicles."

He said it represented "one of many initiatives underway where Canada is leveraging different resources to support our Ukrainian counterparts, including through innovative allied coalitions, working with Canadian industry and leveraging our own military stocks."

The Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC), a federal agency that handles international trade deals, listed the plan in its spring 2025 quarterly report under the description “defence vehicles” produced by a “Canadian exporter.”

“As part of the Government of Canada’s assistance to Ukraine, CCC has been facilitating DND’s purchase of 25 refurbished light armoured vehicles (LAVs) from Armatec Survivability Corp. For donation to the Ukrainian government,” CCC spokesperson Mouktar Abdillahi said in a written statement.

“CCC continues to manage the file. However, due to commercial confidentiality obligations CCC is unable to provide further details.”

There are, however, persistent rumours in the defence community that the project has been cancelled and Ukraine will not get the rebuilt vehicles as promised.

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The federal government imposed a non-disclosure agreement on the company at the onset of negotiations, something that piqued the interest of Conservative defence critic James Bezan.

He is convinced the deal is dead.

“It makes no sense why they walked away from a promise to deliver a minimum of 25 refurbished LAVs to help Ukraine protect their soldiers,” said Bezan.

He said he was “completely puzzled and flabbergasted that the government would put a gag order” on the company, given that it appears there’s no longer a contract.

Prime Minister Mark Carney promised to revitalize the Canadian defence industrial base and spur innovation so those companies can compete for contracts on a global basis.

Bezan has toured the company’s facility.

Armatec has built a demonstration vehicle for the Ukraine project that features an improved cannon and a remote weapons station that helps to protect the crew, Bill Blair, the former defence minister, said last year.

The company's promotional materials show it uses a revolutionary — but proven — restoration process. For that reason, Bezan says the delay and possible revocation of the deal is mind-boggling. 

“It flies in the face of the promises that have been made by the Liberals to support Ukraine. It flies in the face of Mark Carney's promise to use the defence industry to rebuild and strengthen Canada's economy,” said Bezan.

Questions about the status of the contract were posed repeatedly to both the commercial corporation and the Defence Department over several weeks, both of which declined to explain.

“Canada remains unwavering in its support for Ukraine and its priority to provide military aid that is both timely and immediately operational for Ukraine’s Armed Forces,” said a written statement from Defence Minister David McGuinty’s office last month.

“Due to confidentiality obligations and ongoing commercial discussions with Armatec, the Department of National Defence cannot comment on this particular project.”

The statement added that Canada is in the process of delivering up to 50 armoured combat support vehicles (ACSVs) to Ukraine, which were manufactured at General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada. 

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“We are expediting other contracts through the Canadian Commercial Corporation to get effective capabilities into Ukrainian hands without delay,” the statement said.

Armatec, also citing confidentiality, declined to explain the delay and directed all questions back to CCC.

“Independently of CCC, Armatec said it is ready, willing and able to supply infantry fighting vehicle upgrades to our allies in support of their defence efforts and the need to rearm Europe,” said Karl Pfister, president and CEO of Armatec, in a written statement.

“Armatec is a Canadian company using Canadian workers to advance Canadian innovation and technology with a view to the deployment of infantry fighting vehicles that surpass current capabilities.”

Two years ago, DND acknowledged it has 195 LAV II Bisons and 149 Coyote armoured reconnaissance vehicles that are in the process of being taken out of service.

In the spring of last year, a leading Ukrainian parliamentarian met with Blair and other senior Canadian defence officials, pleading for access to the decommissioned stocks and for the speedy completion of the Armatec contract.

Ukraine’s new ambassador to Canada expressed general concern about the fate of the contract.

“We are extremely grateful for all the aid packages donated by the Canadian side,” said Andrii Plakhotniuk in a written statement.

“It is vitally important for the Ukrainian side that all military assistance declared by the Canadian government be delivered to Ukraine at the earliest convenience.”

Senior reporter, defence and security

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