Canadian-made Light Armoured Vehicle burns in Yemen in 2019
Intro
For more than a decade, wealthy Canada has been exporting arms in quantities worth billions of dollars to its fellow wealthy countries Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, supporting the war that the governments of those countries have been waging against Yemen. The UN estimate of per capita GDP for 2023 ranked Yemen as the poorest country in the world.
Saudi Arabia has consistently been Canada's second largest export destination for military equipment since at least 2012.
Canada's military exports to the UAE also make it complicit in the genocide in Sudan, given that the UAE has been backing the Rapid Support Forces.
In 2015, Saudi Arabia, with the backing of the West and the UAE, launched a military intervention and blockade against Yemen, contributing to what UNICEF has described as the “world’s largest humanitarian crises.”
On the night of January 11-12, 2024, US and UK forces carried out airstrikes on 60 targets in Yemen, with the blessing of the Canadian government. Prior to the airstrikes, the Canadian government said it would commit “a handful of personnel" to the US-led "international task force” meant to break the naval blockade that Yemen launched in solidarity with Palestine in late 2023.
In the years since, the US, UK, Israel and Saudi Arabia have followed up with many more airstrikes against Yemen, killing hundreds of civilians and damaging civil infrastructure.
In 2026, Saudi Arabia has also attacked Iraq, the UAE and Saudi Arabia have attacked Iran, and Ukraine, which already armed Saudi Arabia in past decades, has been arming the Gulf monarchies with drones, all in support of the heightened Israeli and American aggression against Palestine, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Iran since 2023.
As Yemen shows us in stark detail, imperialism is class war.
-Ed. mid Sep.2026
See also the Palestine, Iran and Empire sections of this blog.
Links
US Forces in Yemen, by Airwars
Articles
In reverse chronology
Yemen government forces widen attacks against Houthis, by Al Jazeera (2026)
When Wars Converge, by K. C. Sinclair (2026)
Saudi-led Air Raids Break Four-Year Truce, by Yemen Data Project (2026)
UAE’s secret attack on Iran risks drawing Gulf states into the war, by Patrick Wintour (2026)
Iran Targets Ukrainian Anti-Drone Depot in UAE, by Kurdistan24 & AFP (2026)
Ukraine and Saudi Arabia sign deal on defence cooperation, Zelenskyy says, by Olena Harmash (2026)
2025 Year End Summary, by Yemen Data Project (2026)
Why is the UAE involved in Sudan’s bloody civil war?, by Daniel Tester (2025)
Israel launches series of strikes on Yemen’s Red Sea port of Hodeidah, by Rory Sullivan (2025)
Ukraine publishes history book that portrays Israel as ‘victim’, by The New Arab (2025)
Israel launches air raids on power station, ports in Yemen, by Al Jazeera (2025)
US sends 1.1 million rounds of seized Iranian ammunition to Ukraine (2023)
The Impact of the Russian-Ukrainian War on Yemen (2022)
The United Arab Emirates’ Three Strategic Interests in Yemen (2022)
Yemen and Canada’s $2.8-billion moral deficit (2021)
Saudi Arabia receives Kozak-5 armored vehicles from Ukraine, by Dylan Malyasov (2021)
Death from Above: Every Saudi coalition air raid on Yemen, by Al Jazeera (2019)
Saudi Arabia receives modern Ukrainian guided weapon systems, by Dylan Malyasov (2018)
Bomb that killed 40 children in Yemen was supplied by the US, by CNN (2018)
Ukraine unveils new short-range ballistic missile developed with Saudi funding (2018)
Canadian rifles may have fallen into Yemen rebel hands, by CBC News (2016)
Excerpts on Saudi Arabia from Canadian government reports on military exports
"Saudi Arabia was the largest non-U.S. export destination by value, receiving approximately $404 million in Canadian military exports (accounting for approximately 19.8% of the total value of non-U.S. military exports) (compared to $1.3 billion or 52% in 2024)."
-2025 Annual Report on Strategic Goods and Technologies Pursuant to Section 27 of the Export and Import Permits Act
"Saudi Arabia – $1,293,356,472.72"
-2024 Value of exports of military goods and technology by destination (excluding the U.S.), Annual Report on Strategic Goods and Technologies Pursuant to Section 27 of the Export and Import Permits Act
“Saudi Arabia was the largest non-U.S. export destination by value, receiving approximately $904.6 million in Canadian military exports (accounting for approximately 42.2% of the total value of non-U.S. military exports) (compared to $1.151 billion or 54% in 2022).”
-2023 Exports of military goods and technology
“Saudi Arabia was the largest non-U.S. export destination, receiving approximately $1.151 billion in Canadian military exports (accounting for approximately 54% of the total value of non-U.S. military exports).”
-2022 Exports of Military Goods
“Saudi Arabia was the largest non-U.S. export destination, receiving approximately $1,746 billion in Canadian military exports (accounting for approximately 64% of the total value of non-U.S. military exports).”
-2021 Exports of Military Goods
“Saudi Arabia was the largest non-U.S. export destination, receiving approximately $1.311 billion in Canadian military exports (accounting for approximately 67% of the total value of non-U.S. military exports).”
-2020 Report on Exports of Military Goods from Canada
“Saudi Arabia was the largest non-U.S. export destination, receiving approximately $2.864 billion in Canadian military exports (accounting for approximately 76% of the total value of non-U.S. military exports).”
-2019 Exports of Military Goods
“Saudi Arabia was the largest non-U.S. export destination in 2018, receiving approximately $1.282 billion in Canadian military exports (accounting for 61.96% of the total value of non-U.S. military exports).”
-2018 Report on Exports of Military Goods from Canada
“Saudi Arabia was the largest non-U.S. export destination in 2017, receiving approximately $497.5 million in Canadian military exports (accounting for 48.25% of the total value of non-U.S. military exports).”
-2017 Report on Exports of Military Goods from Canada
“Saudi Arabia was the largest non-U.S. export destination in 2016, receiving approximately $142.2 million in Canadian military exports (accounting for 19.81% of the total value of military exports).”
-2016 Report on Exports of Military Goods from Canada
“Saudi Arabia was the second largest destination of Canadian military exports in 2015, receiving $95.6 million in military exports (accounting for 14.1% of Canadian military exports).”
-2015 Report on Exports of Military Goods from Canada
“Saudi Arabia was the largest export destination outside of the United States in 2014, receiving $224.5 million in military exports (accounting for 28.2% of the total value of military exports).”
-2014 Report on exports of military goods from Canada
“Saudi Arabia, a non-NATO AFCCL destination was the largest single [non-U.S.] destination of Canadian military exports each year [2012 and 2013], received $575.1 million in military exports, accounting for 33% of all Canadian military exports.”
-2012-2013 Report on exports of military goods from Canada