Conservative defense critic James Bezon says it’s “truly shameful” that the federal government didn’t notify the public that Kuwait, home to a Canadian armed forces base, was hit by an Iranian missile on March 1.
The Canadian camp at Ali al-Salem Air Base appears to have been damaged by the attack, La Presse newspaper reported today, although no Canadian military members were injured.
Canada has an operational support center at the airfield, which also hosts the United States Air Force.
Bezon says Ottawa was “very secretive” about the war as the Allies held daily briefings.
Get breaking national news
Get breaking Canada news delivered to your inbox so you never miss a trending story as it happens.
The Department of National Defense, which took a week to respond to questions about the base, said it does not disclose information about military facilities for “operational security reasons.”
“We are aware of reports of strikes in the vicinity of Ali al-Salam air base,” the statement said, without answering questions about the extent of the damage or the possible response.
“Based on events since Feb. 27, efforts are focused on force protection of Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members, including moving some within the region, remaining in place if force protection is appropriate and, where applicable, redeploying some back to Canada. All CAF personnel in the region are currently safe and accounted for.
The Liberal government called a take-note debate in parliament on Monday night on the Iran war, but did not mention the attack.
– with additional files from Global News
© 2026 The Canadian Press
(tags to translate)Middle East Conflict(T)Canadian Forces(T)Iran(T)Kuwait(T)Canada(T)Politics(T)World
