OTTAWA — Canada is sending $8 million in food aid to people in Cuba, where a U.S. oil blockade has triggered a humanitarian crisis.

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand and MP Randeep Sarai, secretary of state for international development, say the funding is aimed at addressing urgent needs.

The funding will be delivered through United Nations agencies instead of the Cuban government.

Global Affairs Canada has warned travellers for more than a year of “shortages of basic necessities, including food, medicine and fuel,” across most of Cuba.

The island lost its main source of fuel in January when the U.S. took control of Venezuela’s oil reserves and Washington has since threatened tariffs on countries sending Cuba fuel.

Officials in U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration have suggested economic pressure could topple the communist regime, but a Canadian official told a parliamentary committee Tuesday that the Cuban government is stable.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 25, 2026.

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press