Canadians take to Parliament Hill to demand action against US blockade

Canadians call for independent foreign policy of peace with Cuba and to oppose the blockade at the United Nations

The Canadian Network on Cuba— a coalition of 26 solidarity organizations—held a press conference in Ottawa on Tuesday, October 27th, to demand that the Government of Canada take immediate and concrete action to counter the devastating impact of the United States’ economic war against Cuba in the name of Canadian sovereignty.

The press conference comes after a parliamentary petition was presented by Member of Parliament Leah Gazan (NDP). This is the third petition on this topic to come to the floor in 2026, collecting thousands of signatures, and arrives just before Canadian delegates will vote on the position of the United States blockade at the UN General Assembly on Oct. 28.

The petition and coalition call on Ottawa to undertake the following measures without delay:

1. Deepen and defend economic and cultural exchanges between Canada and Cuba in the face of United States aggression;

2. Enforce the Foreign Extraterritorial Measures Act, to protect Canadian corporations who do business in Cuba against United States sanctions;

3. Lift the Government of Canada’s advisory against non-essential travel to Cuba and expand opportunities for tourism and trade; and

4. Reaffirm Canada’s historic opposition to the United States embargo against Cuba at the United Nations and support the annual resolution on the Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo.

The CNC states that the deliberate use of economic coercion to deprive a population of essential resources raises grave humanitarian and international legal concerns. It calls for an immediate end to measures that threaten the well-being of the Cuban people. Canada must also take concrete measures to protect Canadian businesses and institutions from the extraterritorial application of U.S. sanctions.

Petition to the government of Canada: https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-7649

Statement by the Canadian Labour Congress: https://canadianlabour.ca/solidarity-with-cuba/

Letter to Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand from Heather McPherson, MP for Edmonton Strathcona: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-VMaY_BKZ2Q0ypT9hXeW6AhdaWCjJYYr/view

UNIFOR’s letter to Prime Minister Carney: https://www.unifor.org/news/all-news/letter-pm-carney-responding-humanitarian-crisis-and-economic-threats-cuba-and-canada