Good morning, Mr. President. 

Mr. President, it is an honour to join you on this day of remembrance, of pride, and of hope. 

It is poignant to do so in Sophia Square – the location of so many of Ukraine’s battles for liberty and celebrations of the freedom that you have won.

It is humbling to stand before so many courageous women and men who have devoted themselves to this great nation. 

And being here imparts a solemn duty to be here at a time when your independence, your sovereignty, and your freedoms still hang in the balance. 

Mr. President, dear friends, my message today is simple: Canada will always stand in solidarity with Ukraine. 

Canada will be always with you so your many sacrifices lead to the peace, security, and prosperity that all Ukrainians – that all peoples – deserve. 

Canada is under no illusions about the importance of your struggle. 

And you should have no doubts about the commitments of Canadians to your cause.

Because your cause – freedom, democracy, sovereignty – is our cause.

And your history informs our history. 

I grew up on the Canadian Prairies where my horizon looked like your flag, where my classmates bore your names, where their parents and grandparents spoke your language. 

Let me paint you a picture of our shared history from the heart of my nation. 

In Ottawa, our capital, lies Rideau Hall. It is the seat of government. It houses the representative of Canada's Head of State. This is where prime ministers and cabinet ministers take their oaths of office. It's where some of our newest citizens swear allegiance to our country, to its values, and their responsibilities.

And for many years, they did so under a series of paintings called The Ukrainian Pioneer, paintings by a Ukrainian-Canadian artist, William Kurelek. And the six paintings tell the story of Ukrainian immigration to Canada in the early 20th century: a family fleeing a home in the darkness as soldiers raze their village, their long ocean journey to Canada to be welcomed in Halifax by cheering crowds, the pioneering of prairie lands through harsh winters and scorching summers not unlike here in Ukraine, and culminating in the final panel with a farmer standing in a bright yellow field that stretches beneath a bright, clear, blue sky, his right hand weighed down by the kernels of his wheat, the promise of Ukraine recreated in the reality of Canada, peace, security, prosperity. 

Those paintings paint the beginning of the story of the Ukrainian diaspora in Canada, one that has grown to more than 1.3 million people.

Canada and Ukraine are more than friends and allies. 

The Ukrainian people are at the heart of the Canadian story, a story whose best chapters are still to be written. 

Mr. President, you know well from your career before politics that life does not always proceed in straight lines. That progress is not always linear. That time accelerates and then slows down, and that time, history, and progress of a nation are all punctuated by hinge moments when the future hangs in the balance, when our actions can be decisive.

And it's in these moments that we must choose. 

We must be bold. 

We must be united.

We are at a critical juncture in this intense fighting. The support of the international community must be stepped up. The time has come to act and to take the lead. That is why I am in Ukraine today.

In the hinge moments throughout Ukraine's history, Canada has always chosen to stand by you. 

As you know, 34 years ago today, the Rada proclaimed Ukraine's independence, a decision resoundingly confirmed by the Ukrainian people a few months later.

Canada, under Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, became the first Western nation to recognize Ukraine for what it was, what it is, and what it always will be – an independent, sovereign nation.

In 2014, when Russia invaded Crimea, Canada, under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, launched Operation UNIFIER, sending hundreds of Canadian Armed Forces personnel to this country. And since its inception, Operation UNIFIER has trained over 45,000 members of the Ukrainian security forces, a mission that unfortunately has only grown in importance since that cold February three years ago when Putin renewed his illegal war. 

Since then, Canada, under my predecessor Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, has become the largest per capita contributor of financial aid to Ukraine. We've sent significant military aid. We've continued to help build your military capacity and have welcomed over 300,000 displaced Ukrainians to Canada.

Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Canada has stood with Ukraine and continuously worked to strengthen the capabilities of the Ukrainian armed forces. We have led efforts to provide financial assistance in support of Ukraine's counteroffensive, and we are holding Russia accountable for its deplorable human rights violations and ongoing aggression by imposing severe sanctions on its war machine.

Today, I come here with the honour of leading Canada's new government and I commit that Canada will remain by Ukraine's side in your fight for independence, sovereignty, and freedom, and that we will be there with you to promote peace, security, and prosperity for Ukraine once the killing stops. 

We see this war clearly, as a horrific act of aggression, a maniacal quest to recreate a history that itself was filled with injustice, and we know that peace will only come through strength. 

That's why when you, Mr. President, joined the G7 summit this past June in Canada, we joined others in enacting new sanctions against thousands of Russian entities and hundreds of Russia's foreign enablers of this brutal war. 

These are part of a broader set of restrictions to choke Russia's economy, including banning the imports of energy, metals, and more than 200 goods that fund that war machine. To that end, earlier this month, Canada joined our allies by committing to tighten the oil price cap. 

While we weaken Russia, we work to strengthen Ukraine.

At that same G7 Summit, Canada pledged an additional $2 billion in military assistance. And today, I'm proud to announce that over $1 billion of that support will be used to strengthen your arsenal with urgently needed drones, ammunition, armoured vehicles, material that will arrive next month. 

We'll also fund the joint production of defence materiel, including advanced drones from Canadian suppliers, and we'll provide tens of millions of new funding to support emergency medical and shelter assistance and initiatives to strengthen local democracy – including to counter digital attacks.

And finally, as Co-Chair of the International Coalition of the Willing, Canada will intensify our work with Ukraine, with European partners, and the United States to secure the immediate and unconditional return of Ukrainian children.

Mr. President, dear friends, Canada understands the lessons of history. 

We know that Putin can never be trusted. 

We know the true peace and security requires security guarantees for Ukraine. 

When U.S. President Ronald Reagan led a peace effort with Russia through nuclear disarmament, he adopted the slogan “Trust but Verify”. 

Vladimir Putin is not Mikhail Gorbachev. 

He brings darkness, not glasnost. 

He seeks empire, not perestroika. 

Putin has broken his word repeatedly from Minsk to this morning. 

Putin has caused this terrible tragedy that has claimed the lives of millions. 

Putin menaces your skies, threatens your cities, destroys your fields.

Putin has stolen your children, but Putin can be stopped. 

Russia's economy is weakening, he is becoming more isolated, and our alliance is hardening. 

It's growing more effective, more determined, more united. 

I applaud the leadership of the transformative U.S. President Donald Trump in creating the possibilities for peace, and I welcome General Kellogg here today.

When that peace comes, we cannot simply trust and verify. We must deter and fortify.

Deter Russia from thinking that they can ever again threaten Ukraine's and Europe's freedom.

By reinforcing the strength of Ukraine's armed forces that have fought so valiantly and for so long.

By marshalling the strength of the Coalition of the Willing, of which Canada is a founding and active participant, 

and by welcoming President Trump's openness to considering ways for the United States to support long-term peace and security for Ukraine, aligning with the efforts of that Coalition. 

We must fortify Ukraine by rebuilding your cities, expanding your industries, developing your resources, and creating the foundations for true prosperity. 

When peace comes – and it will come – Canada will be there.

To close, Mr. President, in the last of those paintings I referred to – those Kurelek paintings – the one with the Ukrainian farmer amidst a Canadian field of plenty, a keen eye can see in the distance a mushroom cloud. A bomb. 

It's a reminder that peace, when it comes, can never be taken for granted. 

And it's a reminder to Canadians that we are connected, that your fight is our fight, that your struggle is our cause, and that your independence will be our victory.

Slava Ukraini!

And long live Canada!