As tentative ceasefire negotiations between Russia and Ukraine begin to take shape, Canada and 27 allied nations are quietly developing contingency plans for a peacekeeping mission — but the prospect is fraught with skepticism, logistical hurdles, and a stark shortage of available Canadian troops.
Lt.-Gen. Steve Boivin, the Canadian Armed Forces officer overseeing international operations, confirmed that a preliminary meeting was held last week in the United Kingdom with senior military commanders from countries willing to contribute to a “coalition of the willing” peacekeeping force. The mission would only be deployed if a formal ceasefire is reached, but with indirect talks ongoing in Saudi Arabia and limited agreements in place, the planning remains highly speculative.
The idea of a multinational force was initially proposed by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, but has received a tepid response internationally. Even U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, dismissed the concept as political “posture and pose.” Nevertheless, defense planners are moving ahead with early preparations, focusing on what a potential force might look like and how quickly it could be deployed.
Boivin acknowledged Canada’s limitations. “The army is stretched,” he said, citing commitments such as Canada’s leadership of a NATO brigade in Latvia and its ongoing military training mission for Ukrainian forces. With recruitment still lagging after the pandemic and a sexual misconduct crisis that rocked military leadership, Canada has limited troop capacity for new overseas deployments.
One immediate option under consideration is reassigning Canadian troops already deployed in Europe. Over 400 personnel are currently training Ukrainian forces under Operation Unifier, and Boivin said military planners are examining whether this task force can be restructured to support peacekeeping roles without drawing resources from other vital commitments.
“We’ve made a commitment to NATO in Latvia, and we are not going to affect that,” Boivin emphasized, adding that allied planners are assessing how heavily armed and large a peacekeeping force would need to be given the scale of the ongoing conflict.
That scale is staggering. Experts estimate the front line stretches over 2,100 kilometres, with approximately 700,000 Russian troops in the region and over one million Ukrainian forces mobilized. A recent analysis from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) warned that a credible peacekeeping force would have to be comparable in size to the entire militaries of countries like Greece or Spain — potentially up to 100,000 troops.
Such a mission would also require significant air, naval, and space assets to secure strategic corridors and deter future Russian aggression. Anthony King, a strategy professor at the University of Exeter, said U.S. backing would be crucial, even if the core deployment came from European and NATO allies. “At the very least, American infrastructure support and air defense systems would be essential to making the mission viable,” King stated.
For now, the fate of the peacekeeping plan rests on the success of ceasefire negotiations, the political will of NATO and allied governments, and their capacity to deliver both the personnel and equipment needed for what could be one of the most complex international military operations since the Balkans. For Canada, any involvement will likely depend on its ability to shift existing deployments rather than expand its footprint.
