Canadian policy in West Asia has suffered a blow and the only response emanating from Ottawa is to double down on hypocrisy.
In recent days Ansar Allah (Houthis) have gained significant territory along the western coast of Yemen, taking complete control of the country’s Red Sea coastline. Ansar Allah has strengthened their claim to run the country and ability to control the strategically important Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
The military gains are a setback to US/Israel policy. Even more significantly, Ansar Allah’s advances are a major blow to the rulers of Saudi Arabia, which has waged war and enforced a brutal blockade of its southern neighbour for a decade.
On Saturday foreign affairs minister Anita Anand responded to Ansar Allah’s gains by posting, “Canada strongly condemns the Houthi attacks against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the legitimate Government of Yemen. These attacks constitute an unacceptable and dangerous escalation of conflict and instability in the region. Freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb must be restored. Attacks against civilians, civilian infrastructure and commercial shipping must cease.”
But Saudi Arabia’s bombing of the runway at the Sana’a airport on July 13 is what unleashed the latest round of violence since a 2022 truce. The Saudis bid to prevent an Iranian aircraft from landing in Sana’a was part of an effort to re-assert a brutal blockade, which has been condemned by many human rights organizations.
Canada has said little about the blockade over the past decade and has ignored recent Saudi violence. On September 7 the kingdom killed 23, including a child, by striking a prison in northern Yemen.
But when Ansar Allah struck a Saudi energy facility the next day Global Affairs Canada posted, “Canada condemns in the strongest terms the Houthis’ reckless strikes against civilian and economic infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, which injured more than 70 civilians.”
Ottawa’s post to X added, “Canada remains committed to the security of international maritime routes, regional stability and efforts toward a political resolution to this conflict.”
But they’ve ignored the Saudi blockade of the highly impoverished nation (and the US blockade of Iran or Cuba). With very few exceptions, Ottawa has ignored years of horrendous Saudi violence in Yemen. In fact, Canada has sold billions of dollars in arms to the Saudis, which were repeatedly shown to be used in Yemen. A report by the UN’s Group of Eminent Experts on Yemen criticized Canadian weapons sales to Saudi Arabia.
While Ottawa has long been hostile to Ansar Allah, it grew significantly when that group directly challenged Israel. In solidarity with Palestinians being brutalized in Gaza, Ansar Allah began seizing tanker ships connected to Israel traveling through the Red Sea. Beginning in late 2023, their actions crippled operations at the Israeli port of Eilat. A year later Ottawa listed Ansar Allah as a terrorist organization, explicitly citing the group’s actions against Israeli crimes.
To deter Ansara Allah’s attacks in the Red Sea, Canada joined the US-led Operation Prosperity Guardian. Alongside Australia, Bahrain, Denmark, Netherlands and New Zealand, Canada formally assisted US/UK bombing. In response to the first wave of strikes in January 2024 foreign minister Mélanie Joly and defence minister Bill Blair noted: “CanadianArmed Forces personnel deployed with US Central Command supported the precisely targeted strikes undertaken yesterday by the armed forces of the United States and United Kingdom, as did Australia, Bahrain and the Netherlands, against Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.” The next month they released a similar statement defending US-UK violence following another round of bombings.
At least some Canadian troops coordinated US-UK strikes. Three Canadian officers were formally added to the US-led Operation Prosperity Guardian and other Canadians soldiers – deployed at Canada’s base in Kuwait and US bases nearby – also likely assisted. Through Operation ARTEMIS the Canadian navy assisted US forces in the region and hundreds of Canadian soldiers in NORAD continue to assist the US monitoring West Asia.
According to the Costs of War Project, US strikes between December 2023 and mid-2025 killed 213 Yemeni civilians. Researchers with the Brown University initiative found a far greater social toll from the violence.
Canada has supported brutal Saudi/US/Israeli policy in one of the world’s poorest countries. Instead of the endless hypocrisy, Canada should call on outside forces to let the Yemenis determine their own fate.
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