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Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand responds to a question during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on June 12, 2025. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick
Ottawa is assisting Canadians to leave the Middle East amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran, says Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand.
“In the interest of Canadians in the region, we are planning commercial options for Canadians in Israel, the West Bank, and Iran to leave the region via certain neighbouring countries,” Anand said in a June 19 statement on social media. “This is in addition to ongoing efforts to assist Canadians attempting to leave Gaza.”
With airports closed across the region, Ottawa has arranged consular services on the other side of certain crossings on the Israeli and Iranian borders to help those fleeing either country to get home, Anand said. These include areas in Israel, the West Bank, Jordan, Turkey, and Armenia.
“We strongly encourage all Canadians in the region to register to ensure they receive timely communications directly,” Anand said, adding that Ottawa is looking at further options to assist Canadians, including help from allies.
Ottawa used commercial flights to get Canadians out of Lebanon last year, avoiding a military evacuation that officials had been planning for months.
Anand said that Canada is “extremely concerned” about the evolving conflict between Israel and Iran, urging both parties to show “maximum restraint.”
Roughly 3,500 Canadians are currently in Iran while another 6,700 are in Israel, Global Affairs Canada said on June 17, based on a count of those who registered voluntarily out of the approximately 80,000 Canadians in the Middle East.
The department said it hasn’t received any reports of Canadian injuries or deaths as a result of the escalating conflict between the two countries. The federal government has warned against all travel to Iran, Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip.
Israel launched airstrikes on Iran early in the morning of June 13, targeting Iran’s nuclear program and killing three top military commanders. Iran has been responding with missiles since Israel’s attack. On June 19, Iranian missiles hit southern Israel’s main hospital, leaving dozens of people wounded including six in serious condition.
