OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney on Monday defended the Canadian military’s contributions to the war in Afghanistan — but stopped short of asking U.S. President Donald Trump to apologize for belittling Canada’s role.
Carney said everyone should recognize the “extraordinary contributions” made by the Canadian Armed Forces in that conflict. He said Canada sent 40,000 troops to Afghanistan, where they served on the front lines.
He noted 158 Canadian soldiers and one diplomat lost their lives during that conflict and that 30 Canadian soldiers were awarded the U.S. Bronze Star Medal for valour.
“It’s an extraordinary contribution for liberty, for freedom, for human rights, defending the United States, defending Canadian values. Everyone should recognize that,” Carney told an Ottawa news conference on Monday. “All Canadians are in their debt.”
But the prime minister did not mention Trump when asked by a journalist whether he would call on the U.S. president to apologize for saying North Atlantic Treaty Organization troops stayed away from the front lines.
In controversial comments on Fox News on Thursday that drew scorn from political figures across NATO countries, Trump downplayed the overall role of NATO troops and insisted the United States has never needed its NATO allies for anything, or asked anything of them.
“We’ve never needed them, we have never really asked anything of them,” Trump said on Thursday. “They’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan, or this or that. And they did. They stayed a little back, a little off the front lines.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer reacted on Friday by calling Trump’s remarks “insulting” and “frankly appalling.”
Trump posted on social media over the weekend praising the “GREAT and very BRAVE soldiers of the United Kingdom,” though he did not retract or acknowledge his previous statements.
Conservative MP Michael Barrett, who has served in the Canadian Armed Forces, said in a statement Monday that Trump’s comments are “both offensive and factually incorrect.”
“When anyone dismisses or belittles the service and sacrifice of Canadians in uniform, the response should be immediate and unequivocal,” Barrett said.
While Carney opted not to escalate the situation when asked, several senior Canadian cabinet ministers rebutted Trump’s claim on Friday.
Defence Minister David McGuinty said in a statement that Canada was not relegated to the sidelines and was “standing side by side, in solidarity” with American troops.
Heritage Minister Marc Miller said Friday that everyone knows Trump’s comments are “false,” while Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne asserted that the whole world knows what role Canadian troops played in that conflict.
Nujma Bond, spokesperson for the Royal Canadian Legion, said it’s unacceptable to diminish the role Canadian military members played in the conflict.
“We understand the outcry on all fronts. Downplaying the role of Canadian and allied forces in Afghanistan is unacceptable,” she said in an email.
“The stark reality is that Canada alone lost 158 veterans, and many others came back wounded physically and psychologically, and some wounds will last a lifetime.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 26, 2026.
Kyle Duggan, The Canadian Press
