In a statement published on Oct. 28, the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), which represents some 3 million workers, called on its members to block the handling of all weapons and military equipment passing through Canada to Israel.
“The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) Canadian Council has voted in support of a resolution calling on workers to refuse to handle weapons and military equipment destined for Israel,” the statement reads.
The CLC added that it “stands in solidarity with Palestinian workers and their families, and with all those calling for peace, justice and respect for international law.”
The federation said Canada bears responsibility for ensuring that arms manufactured on its soil are not used against Palestinian civilians or in violation of international humanitarian law, and urged the government in Ottawa to halt all direct and indirect transfers of weapons and military equipment to Israel.
The CLC called on Ottawa to uphold international law, protect civilian lives and back a just and lasting peace for Palestinians and Israelis.
Despite Canada claiming to have restricted or paused arms transfers to Israel, shipping and import records point to a continuous flow of weapons and military components.
A July 2025 report, “Exposing Canadian Military Exports to Israel,” compiled by the Palestinian Youth Movement, World Beyond War and the Arms Embargo Now Campaign, found that a continuous, multi-million-dollar pipeline of military supplies, ammunition and components flowed directly from Canada to Israel.
Analyzing commercial shipping records and Israel Tax Authority import data from October 2023 to July 2025, the groups uncovered 47 direct commercial shipments from Canadian arms manufacturers and 391 military-relevant import records.
The transfers took place under previously approved export permits, by sea and on more than 100 flights. Of those, 64 were commercial passenger flights carrying military cargo in the hold beneath civilian travelers.
The vast majority went to Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest arms manufacturer, and its subsidiaries.
Some shipments were even accelerated, according to the groups, with cargo at times rerouted through third countries such as the United States to reach Israel.
Months after Ottawa announced its ban in March 2024, reports emerged that $60 million worth of munitions from a $20 billion arms sale to Israel approved by Washington were set to be manufactured in Canada.
The CLC’s demand comes amid a wave of coordinated dockworker strikes across five continents.
According to Italy’s Unione Sindacale di Base (USB), more than 25 unions moved on Oct. 30 to prevent arms shipments bound for war zones from passing through 113 civilian ports in 22 countries and regions.
Rallying under a joint declaration adopted in Istanbul in May, the unions demanded an immediate end to Israel’s genocide of the Palestinians in Gaza and international recognition of an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, and refused to allow any port to serve as a channel for weapons, ammunition or troops bound for war zones.
Adapted from The Cradle, Oct. 31, 2026.
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